The Best Surprise
by iloveolitz
Summary: Grammy award winner Harper Pope is the love child of Olivia and Fitz' 1 night stand 14 years ago. Olivia knows and when Fitz enters her life again, she must find a way to help both her daughter and the love of her life understand why she made this tough choice. Rated M for spice. Now a full blown story.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: this might be a one shot, depending on the response. I had this idea pop into my head and I wanted to put it out there and see how it is going. **

**I won't abandon TFTH…Just want to see where this goes. **

**Happy reading!**

**XOXO**

The party was elite, to say the least. Olivia recognized a lot of familiar faces and no part of her wanted to be here longer than an hour. Harper had been invited by some of the award show attendees, and not wanted to be rude, she agreed to accompany her daughter. Since she was only 13, winning a Grammy was unheard of, and Harper was a really hot commodity right now. Olivia was concerned that about her daughter being taken advantage of, and made it a point to be near her child, but out of sight.

Harper was beautiful. The daughter of a one night stand, Olivia was very protective of her daughter and vigilant of her company. She bore a pair of the most striking blue eyes ever seen on a woman of color, her hair was dark chocolate and had absolutely NO sign of African American Heritage hanging almost to her waist in loose curls, and her skin was the color of a tan paper brown. She was blessed with the voice of a young Whitney Houston, and a chance encounter with a Karaoke machine at the mall turned into an almost instant record deal and fame. She was the perfect mixture of a night that Olivia never forgot.

_Flashback_

_Olivia had one too many drinks that night. Ok, so she was drunk. No part of her cared at the present moment, and when the DJ decided to play a slow song, she didn't hesitate to make her way to the dance floor, dragging her long-time friend, Abby, with her. She swayed her hips, showing off her "juking" skills in her tight fitting dark jeans, white shimmering halter top, and 5 inch black pumps. She danced alongside her friend, catching the attention of every man within 20 feet of her with a pulse as she demonstrated the most erotic way to roll her hips and butt at the same time. _

_She felt hands and a semi-hard penis behind her. She eyed Abby, who gave her the signal to deny this person. Either he was too ugly, or looked too thirsty. Olivia dodged him, moving to the other side of her redhead friend and continued to dance. When the song changed, she switched tempos and began to sing the song to accompany her dancing. She was having a great time until she felt yet another pair of hands wrap around her body. She looked to Abby and instead of getting the usual cut throat gesture from her, she was met with Abby's green eyes about to bulge out of her head. She was about to turn around when she heard his voice in her ear. _

"_Don't stop. God, you look amazing. Please don't stop dancing. May I please dance with you, pretty lady?" _

_She felt her panties instantly become moist. His breath smelled of brown liquor and mint, and was tickling her ear. She continued to twirl her hips, but slower, and was trying to calm her breathing. She made eye contact with Abby and got a wink._

_A wink? What does that mean? She thought…_

_Just then, the DJ switched to a reggae tune and Olivia switched along with him, adding more flavor to her hip and butt thrusts. She felt the mystery man behind her match her hips move back and forth, in and out, and was so engrossed with his movements, she didn't notice her friend leave the dance floor or the other people begin to stare. It was as if she and this man had the most amazing chemistry and everyone on the dancefloor could feel the electricity between them. She knew this song very well, and when the chorus ended, she turned around and wrapped her hands around his neck. He instantly lowered his forehead to touch hers, and she pinched her jeans at the thigh, granting herself a bit more room to rotate her middle into his crotch. She lifted her eyes to meet his and what she saw ALMOST made her lose her rhythm. _

_Cerulean blues. _

_As the dancing grew hotter and heavier, Olivia began to feel his manhood through his pants. She eyed him, knowing deep down that she should stop herself. Instead, she locked eyes with him and it was as if they were talking without actually speaking. _

"_My God, your body feels so amazing…."_

"_You're not so bad yourself." _

"_Wanna get out of here?" _

"_Absoooo-lutely."_

_The next thing Olivia could register was her back being pushed against the wall on the side of the building. They were in route to his car, hand in hand, and he had grown impatient. He couldn't take it anymore. He needed to feel those beautifully plump lips against his own. He took a chance and halted movement, pushing her into the wall and devouring her lips. He suckled and nibbled on them until she granted him entry to her tongue, meeting his thrusts with her own. Her left leg found its way around his waist and he leaned into her even more, pressing is manhood into her stomach. _

_Olivia broke the kiss. "Let's go." _

_Thankfully, the mystery man didn't live very far. They got out of the car calmly, both inwardly hoping the other would be ok with this and not change their mind. He unlocked his apartment and let her in first, locking behind him. When he turned around, she was on him like a magnet. She snaked her arms around his neck, lacing her fingers through his hair and enjoying the moan that was vibrating her mouth from him. She took a tiny step back, dragging him back with her and kept one hand around his neck, the other on his arm. As if he knew what she was about to do, he hoisted her up so that her legs wrapped around his waist. He dropped the keys in his hand, undid his shoes, and managed to keep his lips locked with the perfect beauty currently wrapped around him. _

_He made his way into his bedroom and lay her down gently. He wanted to badly to ravage and tear her body apart for her, but he felt like that was wrong. Just looking into her beautiful cappuccino eyes, he felt like he needed to take his time and show this woman's body the respect it deserved. She reached down and pulled his shirt up by the hem, revealing a chiseled torso she thought you could only see in exercise commercials. He smirked at the look on her face, inwardly patting himself on the back for those extra hours at the gym. He pulled her upright, reaching to unclip her top when he suddenly stopped. She took a deep breath and locked eyes with him. _

"_You sure?"_

"_Very. Take it off…NOW."_

_He grinned at her, kissing her gently as he undid her top and peeled it down her body, revealing that she didn't bother to wear a bra this evening. He was about to come undone looking at her perfect chocolate nipples, erect and pointing directly at him. He wasted no time showing them equal respect, rolling his tongue in circles around them and enjoying the chocolate taste in his mouth. He thought he was going crazy…no way were her nipples actually sweet…right?_

_She moaned and groaned, laying back and tangling her fingers thru his thick curls yet again. When he gently bit her breast, she tugged on his hair, signaling she like what he was doing. He peeled off her pants, kissing every inch of skin as it became visible. Olivia wanted to scream. He was torturing her and giving her the most exquisite feelings all at the same time. Her mind was on overload. _

"_Ah, oh my, just do it alr- OOOOhhhhh…Oh my, " Olivia couldn't make out a complete sentence as he worshipped her body with his mouth. He kissed a trail from her feet to her ankles, calves, and knees, then placed them on his shoulders and began to kiss her inner thighs. He was thouroghly enjoying pleasing her, and watching her become flustered and even more turned on at the same time. He could now see her wetness seeping around her black lace thong, and this turned him into a mad man for a second, gripping her panties by the side and tearing them off. He placed an impasse kiss on her lower lips and she almost rocketed to the ceiling. _

_He flattened his tongue and went to work on her. He never in his life thought giving a woman oral could make him feel this way, but he wanted nothing more than to remain between her thighs forever. _

_Olivia could feel her orgasm building in her lower stomach. She grabbed a fist full of sheets, trying to steady her breathing, and used her other hand to pull on his silky curls. Her toes curled, her eyes rolled, and she let go of what she thought was the most intense orgasm she'd ever had. She opened her eyes and saw stars. She looked down at him, and he was still slurping and sucking up all her juices as he locked eyes with her. Never in her life had she felt this relax and euphoric. _

_Fitz kissed a path up her pelvis, stomach, valley between her breasts, and finally her chin before he locked lips with her again. She kissed him with such urgency, he wanted to go back and give her another orgasm. She began to unbuckle his pants, thinking she had to have him immediately. He allowed his pants and boxers to slid down simultaneously, and Olivia caught a glimpse of his penis. She halted her movements and studied his face as if she was asking him if it was real. _

_He caught her eye and smirked, kissing her neck and positioning himself between her legs, the head of his penis rubbing her already swollen clit. He could feel the urgency of her wetness and he freed one hand to his nightstand to find a condom. She knew what he was doing and tried her best to remain patient. After a few moments, Olivia looked away, feeling like she would cum just watching him put it on. He seemed to be having trouble as he figeted with the contraceptive. _

"_Uh, just do it already!" she screamed. _

"_Um…well, I uh…" Fitz wanted to respect her in every aspect. _

_Olivia wasn't the type to do this. ANY of this. Meet a stranger in a club, kiss him, go back to his place, and DEFINTELY not have sex with him on the first night. Something about this man made her feel like she already knew everything about him and she was so comfortable she didn't give her odd behavior any more thought. At this very moment, she just wanted him to hurry the fuck up and do it already. _

_Fitz was caught up in his own dilemma. His hands were shaking so badly, he couldn't get the damn thing to go on. He was already quite blessed below the belt, so applying any contraceptive EVER always proved to be a task. With the ebony beauty laying below him, he was so nervous he couldn't get it secure. When she said do it already, he assumed she meant go without the condom. After about 5 mores seconds, he allowed the alcohol in his system to win the battle and he threw the unused condom to the floor. He pulled her leg behind her knee up to his waist and entered her quickly and swiftly. She almost orgasmed from pure pleasure of penetration, and they went on to have sex several time that night. Not once did either question what the other meant by not having protection on._

Present.

Oliva watched as her daughter wooed all the major players in the music industry. She already had a record deal so that wasn't her goal. Olivia knew that Harper didn't really have a goal as she was the sweetest child anyone could ask for.

After a while, Olivia found herself seated at the bar nursing a glass of red wine. She kept a close eye on Harper, who seemed to be fitting in and making new friends. There was a few other teenagers present at the party, which put Olivia's heart somewhat at ease. She carried on a conversation with another parent in attendance at the party and watched as her daughter danced and carried on with a few of the other partygoers.

Just then, the music stopped and in strolled R&amp;B's newest sensation, Fitzgerald Grant. Fitz to the ladies and music world, he was the most beautiful man she had ever seen. Everyone in the room went nuts over his arrival and even her own daughter seemed to pay attention. The man smiled and shook hands. He had just received 5 Grammy's tonight and was taking in the atmosphere.

Fitz had watched as Harper took the stage. He was in absolute amazement. He had been in the music industry for quite some time now, and had made it big. Throughout NONE of his travels had he come across a young lady with such poise and talent. He was entranced by her eyes and hypnotized by her voice. As he watched her perform from the audience, for some reason he felt like he needed to protect her.

Harper made her way to her mother from behind and scared her out of her Fitz-induced trance.

"Momma, you're staring."

Olivia felt her cheeks burn. She was in fact staring, but she absolutely couldn't help it. There he was. She hadn't seen him in person in almost 14 years and he was here in front of her. She gathered her thoughts and turned to her daughter.

"What can I say, munchkin? I have eyes. He is gorgous, isn't he?" Olivia asked her daughter.

Harper shrugged her shoulders and looked back at the handsome man.

Fitz felt funny. He felt as if someone was watching him. OF COURSE plenty of people were, but he felt a familiar twinge in his heart. It began to beat quickly and his breathing became a bit labored. He scanned the room and when his eyes landed on Harper, he smiled and made his way over to her. Olivia had turned back around to order another glass of red wine and didn't notice her daughter wave at Fitz. Harper knew he mother had a slight celebrity crush and wanted to push things a little. She didn't tell her mother he was coming over.

"Harper Pope! Nice to see you again, sweetie! You did AMAZING tonight! Congratulations on your first award!" Fitz exclaimed. He pulled Harper into a bear hug, and for reasons he couldn't explain, it felt right. She felt like she belonged in his arms and he wanted to protect her from anyone he deemed dangerous to her.

"Thank you!" Harper gushed as she hugged him. She cut her eyes at her mother who was now fixated on the bar in front of her. She noticed how her mother was siting stock still and not looking around. She found it strange.

"Mom, look who it is! It's Fitz!"

Olivia swallowed the lump in her throat and silently willed her pulse to slow down. She could smell that familiar scent already and it was doing a number on her. How could she face this man? She never contacted him even though he gave her his number to call after their chance encounter. Now he was behind her back hugging THEIR daughter? He had no idea he was holding his own flesh and blood and that alone made Olivia want to cry. She knew deep down that she had hidden Harper from him for what she thought was a good reason, but with him being so close, she was beginning to doubt her decisions.

She eased around on her stool, and finally locked eyes with him. Fitz' arms dropped from around Harper and it was as if everyone else in the room disappeared. There she was! His Olivia! She was right here in front of him and he couldn't speak. This was the woman he let get away. To this day, he knew he had secretly fallen in love with her that night and it scared the hell out of him. He had to assume it scared her as well since he never heard from her again. She looked absolutely stunning in her floor length white strapless gown. She only wore a small heart shaped necklace, which he noticed matched Harper's, and a shiny black clutch in her hand. She sat, looking cool and collected with her legs crossed and he wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms and confess that the song he just won the awards about tonight was indeed about her.

Olivia felt like putty. She gazed into his eyes, not remembering them being so entrancing, and got lost for a moment. He made the back suit he was wearing look like it had been made specifically for him and she felt that instant attraction she had felt all those years ago. She wanted to run away and cry and scream out of guilt, but in that moment, all she could do was stare at the man who had made her fall in love all those years ago.

She somehow found the strength to stand up and outstretch her hand to him. By this time, Harper knew something was up so she took a step back as they stood in front of each other. She anticipated their introductions to one another but what she heard had her floored.

"Hi Fitz."

"Hi Olivia."

"You KNOW each other!?"

**AN: that's it for now! Let me know what you think! I thought this would be a clever idea (I haven't read anything like this on here before) and I'm excited to see where this goes. How will Harper handle this? How will Fitz handle finding out the truth? **

**SPOILER ALERT: OLITZ IS ENDGAME AND ALWAYS WILL BE IN ANY STORY I WRITE, SO DON'T GET YOUR PANTIES IN A WAD JUST YET. TAKE THE RIDE WITH ME! **

**Don't take offense to how I described Harper, please. I actually have a few mixed race family members and they have hair that doesn't resemble mine in ANY way, shape, form, or fashion. As if it's ALL Caucasian hair. Nothing wrong with it, but just wanted to clear that up before any issues arise. **

**Until next time…leave me reviews so I can see if this is as good an idea as I think it is….**

**PS: I'm not a great smut writer…kind of embarrassed to write it but I hope I did ok! I didn't want to cross the line with what I was saying, so I didn't make it as dirty as my mind thought it. **

**XOXO**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: WOW! The response I've gotten from this story is incredible! Thank you so much for all your kind words and inspiration! After about the 3****rd**** review, I decided right then I was going to continue this. **

**I do have a child, fiancé, and hold down a steady job WHILE I have my own business, so finding time to write is hard but necessary. Today I am forgoing my extra sleep time since it's my late day to bring you guys another chapter. Hope you like it! **

**IF I don't update as quickly as you would like me to, please be patient with me. As always, leave me reviews! They fuel my thoughts! **

**Happy Reading! **

**XOXO**

CH 2

"You KNOW each other!?" Harper screeched.

There was silence. Silence because as they stood there with their hands clasp and breathing in sync, nothing else mattered. Fitz stared at Olivia as if he could see directly to her soul and Olivia felt the same. Harper broke the silence yet again.

"Um…Mom…Mommy…MA?" Olivia seemed to come out of her trance at the third variation of her title. She shook her head and reluctantly released his hand.

"Yes-YES? I hear you Harp. Fitz and I are….um…." Olivia began to stumble over her words.

As this exchange was happened between the ladies, Fitz was trying to register their relationship in his head. _Did she just say mom? Seriously? Olivia doesn't look a day over 30….and a teenager? Now I know where she gets her beauty from….and those eyes…._

Olivia cleared her throat, asking Fitz to assist her in clarifying their status. As if on cue, Fitz began to relay what they were to each other to Harper-well, the PG 13 version anyways.

"Uh, well Harper, I actually know you mother from-well I suppose-about 10 years ago or so. She caught my eye then and she has my attention equally as much now." Fitz winked his eye at Olivia and she tried to ignore the fact that her knees were knocking and panties beginning to feel kind of damp.

"Fitz. You're too much. REALLY." Olivia emphasized the REALLY part. None of this exchange was lost on an inquisitive Harper.

Feeling out of place, Harper excused herself to go back to her new found boy band friends and left the two old lovers alone. Harper had always been taught respect towards adults and leaving adults to talk was definitely a step in the right direction. Not to mention she could cut the tension with a knife right about now.

Fitz motioned for Olivia to take a seat at the bar again. She slipped back on her stool and when he went towards the seat next to her, she noticed a rather tall and large man behind him, looking even more serious than the other 3 bodyguards strategically placed around the room. Fitz caught her line of vision and quickly excused his number 1 bodyguard and best friend, Tom.

"So Livvie how have you been-or does everyone call you Olivia now?" Fitz was turning on the charm as he added that crooked grin she remembered so well.

Olivia felt herself blush and wanted to kick her own butt. "No, Liv….Livvie's fine. Thanks. I've been…busy. As you can see. You? By the way, congratulations on your awards tonight!" Olivia hoped she didn't sound like a school aged fan.

"Thank you. I have been busy as well. I guess all those nights auditioning for spaces in nightclubs really paid off."

_I wouldn't know. I didn't take enough time to get to know you back then…_Olivia inwardly chastised herself. She made sure to keep a close eye out for Harper, but the more she fought it, the easier it became to get lost in this man. He was sitting before her looking and smelling like a Greek god and she had to cross her legs the opposite direction when she noticed the lone superman curl that found its way on his forehead and to her line of vision.

"So, where's the misses?" Olivia knew good and well he was single. Even if she didn't follow his career out of fascination, one couldn't help but notice the magazines at the checkout counter in the grocery stores. She took a sip of her wine as he answered.

"I guess she's where she needs to be at this very moment," Fitz said. He had lowered his voice when he answered this and Olivia damn near choked on her wine.

_Damn, I guess the tabloids failed again. _

"Are you ok, Liv?" Fitz began to pat her back. It wasn't lost on his how soft her skin felt. Since she was wearing an open back dress, he couldn't help but to notice.

_No. I just spit all over a Grammy award winner. _

"Yes. I'm sorry. I got a little…choked." Olivia tried to recover, but from the look she saw in Fitz' eyes, she knew there was no use.

"As of now, I don't have a leading lady. I have been seen out with a few, and judging by your response, you have read the tabloids too, correct?" It was Fitz turn to take a sip of the drink he had ordered.

Olivia took a moment to compose her thoughts. "I noticed, but I don't trust anyone's research but my own, Mr. Grant." Fitz felt his pants begin to tighten at how low her voice became and as if she could tell, she gave him a coy but seductress smile.

"Let me guess….Lawyer right?"

"Yep."

The conversation went on like this for about an hour. They caught up like old friends who hadn't seen each other in ages. Fitz learned that Olivia was owner of her own law firm, Olivia Pope &amp; Associates. He also learned that when they were not touring, she owned a gated estate on the outskirts of Brooklyn. Olivia learned that not only had Fitz won a few Grammy's, but he also was up for an academy award from his role in a major motion picture. Both thought the other's life was like a fairytale, but the truth couldn't be further away.

"So, Harper seems like an extraordinary young lady. Her voice makes me wanna trash all my demos right here and now." Fitz laughed. Olivia couldn't help but smile at his compliment.

"Thank you. She really is. Underneath all of this you see, the singing and performing, is my munchkin. She started singing when she was about 18 months old. Anything that sounded like a tune, from my doorbell to my ringtone on my phone, she could catch the melody and hum along. Harper really has a heart of gold. She is probably the most well behaved teen I've ever seen….very respectful and modest. She doesn't even think she did very well on most performances." Olivia felt like she was rambling, but when she looked at Fitz, she could tell he was leaning on her every word. She wanted so badly to tell him, but the moment just didn't seem right. She decided against it.

"Where's her father?" Fitz asked abruptly. He could tell by the look on her face that he stuck a chord. Something flashed in her eyes…._was that guilt_?

Fitz tried to soften the blow, "I'm- I'm sorry, Olivia. I didn't mean to bring up any bad blood or memories. I was just curious. I can only imagine if I had a daughter as beautiful and talented as she was, there's no way in hell I would let her out of my sight."

For a lawyer, Olivia could keep a straight face. She could tell someone that it was raining gumdrops and free money and they would probably believe her so she couldn't understand for the life of her how it seemed so hard to lie to this man's face. She refused to make eye contact with him, instead only dragging her fingers around the top of the wine glass she had been nursing. This was not lost on Fitz.

"Olivia?"

"It's fine. Harper is my angel. I have made A LOT of mistakes in my life, but she's the one thing I can say I did right, ya know?" The pained looked on her face told Fitz this was a sensitive area and while every fiber in his being screamed to get to the bottom of this, he knew to back off and give her some space.

After another hour or so, the party began to die down. Harper made her way back to her mother, wishing she could slip off her designer wedges and crawl into her mother's embrace.

"Ready to go, Harp?"

Harper replied after a dramatic yawn, "Yes, please?"

Olivia pulled her phone from her purse as Fitz watched and sent what appeared to be the quickest text message he ever seen. "Max is bringing the car around, baby girl."

"Good. I'm gonna run to the bathroom. I'll be right back." And with that, Harper gave her best attempt and a non-tired walk towards the ladies room.

"Well, Miss Pope. It has been an absolute pleasure reconnecting with you again-"Fitz felt silly being so formal with her considering she had broken his heart so many years ago. He was NOT about to lose her. He'd finally found her! Music business be DAMNED. He continued-"Livvie, I know it's been a long time. I also know that we didn't exactly end on the best of terms, but I can't let you go. Not yet anyway. Not like this. Can we please talk?" He was now standing before her, her legs still crossed and turned to his right side and he standing so that if he leaned forward and touched her leg with his pelvis, she would know for sure he was excited to see her.

Olivia felt like shit. Here he was begging her to even give him the time of day and she had already kept from him the most important thing they had shared-the birth of his daughter so many years ago. Her mind began to play Harper's life like a movie. From birth, to coming home, first steps, first words, school and talent show auditions, the handful of times Harper had gotten into trouble, and now, with her new teen becoming a household name. The pride she felt for her daughter was indescribable, but she felt like a total jackass for keeping this from Fitz. She finally met his gaze and could see nothing but desire and pleas as he waited for an answer.

Olivia, in a bold move, stood up in front of him. He didn't take a step back, and they were now closer than either had bet they would be tonight. She reached up and slid her arms around his shoulders. At the same time, he wrapped his hands around the waist and back he had come to remember inch my inch. He wanted so bad to grasp the luscious booty in his line of vision, but thought against it. When she pulled back, she kept one hand at his shoulder and the other she reached into his coat pocket. When she found his phone, she quickly entered her number into it and returned it to its proper place. Fitz kept his eyes focused on her lips as she stifled a small grin and bit her lip while she typed in her number. Neither noticed Harper as she had exited the bathroom and was not standing at the end of the bar with her arms crossed and silly grin on her face.

Fitz caressed her cheek, tucking on her loose strands behind her ear and wanted so badly to kiss her right here and now. Instead, he settled for a firm but quick enough cheek kiss. He inhaled as he kissed her and her scent-the one she had left in his bed so many years ago- filled his nostrils.

When they separated, Harper took this as her queue to make her presence known again.

"Ok mom, I'm ready." Olivia nodded. She head Harper and Fitz say their goodbyes, something about Harper making sure to keep her vocal chords in good shape with honey and lemon when they felt sore. She heard her daughter thank him and when she looked up, both father and daughter had the same bright water blue eyes as they looked at each other with admiration. Fitz hugged the girl and there it was again- he felt like he needed to protect her for some reason. Harper couldn't deny it felt good to have this man look at her as if he was her protector. Sure, she had body guards, but she wanted nothing more than to take his every word into stride. If he said honey and lemon, that's what she would do. She wanted him to be proud of her and she felt so at home in his arms, it scared her.

Once all the goodbyes were said, Fitz watched as Harper and Olivia made their way to the nearest exit. Tom approached him.

"Sir?"

"Yes, Tom?"

"Sir, if I may speak out of turn for a moment."

"Tom, pretend we are off the clock."

Tom sighed. "Fine. Fitz, dude, you hitting that? Or have you?"

Fitz jerked his head around at Tom's question and felt his cheeks begin to burn.

"I only ask because-well not that I was eavesdropping-but I noticed how she shied away from the question about her child's father."

Fitz stopped Tom right there.

"I noticed. It has all become quite clear to me, Tom. Harper is MY child. I can see it clear as day. I'm not only good for singing…I have a brain too."

"Fitz, you seem extremely calm about this. What makes you so sure?"

"We were together almost 14 years ago, Tom. Tell me Harper doesn't have my eyes? As much as I love Olivia's natural hair state, Harper doesn't have that either. What's there to get upset about? Sure, she should have told me, but this makes me feel SO much better. Here I was watching this little girl and only seeing just that-a little girl. I wanted to protect and nurture her and that thought alone scared me half to damn death since A) I don't care for strangers and B) I don't know her. I was beginning to worry I'd have some unhealthy involuntary obsession with a teenager. I think I can understand why she didn't tell me. Remember how I was back then?"

Tom nodded. Fitz continued.

"But after holding her, looking into the mirror of eyes that looked right back at me tonight, and being in the presence of the woman responsible for the inspiration in most of my songs, I am certain of two things."

"And they are?"

"Olivia Pope is-she is-STILL the love of my life. I haven't gotten over her nor do I want to get over her." Fitz smiled to himself as he ran his hands behind his neck where her hands had been.

"And the second thing?"

"Harper Pope is my daughter and I will make sure to keep eyes and hands around her until my last breath. That is a promise."

/

As Olivia and Harper finally arrived home, Olivia noticed Harper had finally dozed off with her Galaxy phone in hand. Olivia smiled, asking Max to come help her get her daughter to bed. He carried the child to bed and excused himself from their home to go to his small apartment guest house on site.

Olivia made her way to her bedroom and undressed. She stepped under the shower with the water completely on hot. She allowed the stress to melt away and subconsciously found her hands rubbing circles across her now flat belly. She felt awful for not sharing her secret when she had the time tonight and that alone made her weep.

After she finished in the shower, she dressed in cream silk pajamas and made her way out of the bathroom. As she exited, she was startled by Harper, who was standing in her door way shuffling her feet. She couldn't help but smile at the fact that Harper's hair was equally as wet as her own-signaling she had showered- and was donning the same exact pair of pajamas.

"Mom?"

"Harp?"

Harper made her way to her mother's bed and sat criss crossed on the opposite side of her mother. They sat like this for about 30 seconds as it seemed each was trying to read the other's mind. Olivia had always been as honest with her daughter as she could for whatever age she was at. Tonight Olivia prayed Harper hadn't picked up on the situation at hand.

Harper took a deep breath before she began.

"What's the deal with you and Fitz?"


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Thank you for all the reviews on this story! I don't like to write a lot of angst (bad drama and so on…) because I feel like we have enough of that on Thursday nights. There will be a few issues to overcome in this story, but trust and believe OLITZ IS ENDGAME!

***I DO NOT OWN THESE CHARACTERS!

CH 3

Olivia looked at her daughter. She knew this was coming soon and she honestly didn't know what to say. She wanted to be as honest with her as she could, but she felt like this conversation was something she wanted to have with Harper and Fitz together. On the way home, Olivia had devised her plan of action in her head. She knew she needed to speak with Fitz on a more personal level, but she was terrified that once he found out the truth, he would leave her. She was grateful for the attention she was receiving from him, but the truth had to come out. She then wanted to sit Harper down and have Fitz and herself discuss things with her. Even though Harper was only 13, she displayed wisdom and maturity far beyond her years.

"Harp, Fitz and I knew each other from a long time ago-"

"Right. He said over 10 years ago. Why didn't you end up with him?"

Olivia was taken aback by the question. "What do you mean?"

Harper gave her mother a raised eyebrow. "Mom, he looks at you like you are a steak dinner and he's a 7 year hostage! Come on, how long do you expect me to buy that story that the STORK dropped me on your doorstep?" 

Olivia couldn't hide the shock on her face. She felt her cheeks flush as realization hit that she was no longer talking to a little girl, but a young teenager.

_Shit, Shit SHIT. She doesn't know, does she? _Olivia asked herself.

Harper took her mother's silence as an OK to continue. "I'm just saying. I know what sex is and I know how attraction works. Fitz likes you, mom. It's not like he only wants you for your money."

Olivia and her daughter shared a slight chuckle at this.

"Harp, for right now I just need you to relax and focus on your music. Whatever happens between Fitz and me is personal, but anything that affects you WE will definitely bring to you. Can you accept that for now?" Olivia had her fingers crossed.

Harper seemed to ponder this idea for a minute before agreeing with her mother, "Ok."

Olivia kissed her daughter's forehead and Harper stood to leave. She walked towards the foot of Olivia's California King Size bed and began to shuffle her feet. Olivia didn't have to look at her mini-me to know what she wanted.

"Come on, munchkin. No kicking and talking in your sleep."

Harper's eyes lit up and she jumped on her mother's bed with her knees, pushing herself into the air and landing on her back next to her mother. Her hair splayed across the pillow behind her, she turned and faced Olivia. There they lay; holding hands and Olivia watched as the facial features of her beautiful daughter softened and she fell asleep.

Olivia had a harder time falling asleep. She eventually turned and lay on her back, staring at the ceiling, and seeing Fitz' face smiling back at her. She prayed she didn't lose him as she knew what she had to do.

/

Across town, Fitz sat in his study. He was wearing only a pair of silk pajama bottoms and nursed a glass of the best scotch money could buy. He could have any woman he wanted and he knew this, but ever since his night with Olivia so long ago, the player life had definitely lost its touch. He sat, thinking about not only the striking beauty that had come into his life yet again, but the miniature version of her that half belonged to him. He would bet his life that Harper was his daughter. Something in his gut told him he was not even close to being wrong.

Watching her on stage brought him such joy. The way she commanded the attention of everyone in the room as she sang one of his dear friend Whitney's classics. There had not been a dry eye in the house as Harper threw her own version of what the song in, but kept alive the spirit of the late singer.

He had so many ideas in his head right now. He wanted more than anything to not scare Olivia away. He smiled as he thought about how different he must be compared to other men. Sure, he had only recently found out about Harper, but he felt the attraction to her. He was more disappointed than pissed that he had missed milestones, but he planned to not only make up for lost time, but to make new memories as well. He was gonna make Olivia sweat for a little while because even though he understood, he still thought she was wrong. When it was all said and done, she would understand why he was so calm about the entire ordeal. Not many people knew that Fitz wore his feelings on his sleeve and they weren't easily knocked off…but when they were, his easy going spirit allowed for quick recovery.

Fitz downed the rest of his liquid fire, setting the glass on the table and went to lie down. He too lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, and the beautiful face that filled his imagination was that of the one he lost-but had a chance to get back…

Olivia Pope.

/

Olivia woke up to the sound of her bedroom door closing. She assumed Harper left to go through her morning ritual. She turned over to find her alarm clock and was instantly met with Harper's smiling face as she squatted by her bed.

"WAKE UP SUNSHINE!"

Olivia almost peed herself. She jumped clear across the bed as Harper fell to the floor in laughter.  
"HARP! GOODNESS, WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT THAT!? ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME!?"

Harper's laughter died somewhat as she looked at her mother with an apologetic expression. Olivia couldn't stay mad long, so she took one of the many pillows on her bed and slung it at her daughter. They halted all play when Olivia's phone rang. Harper's curiosity got the best of her, and even though she knew better, she peeked at her mother's phone. Her inkling had been right.

"Mr. Right is calling you, mom."

Olivia gave her a stern look, followed by a soft smile.

"Alright, Miss priss. Go decide what you want for breakfast and I'll be there soon."

Harper took the hint and left the room, making googly-eyes at her mother. Oliva shook her head, picked up her phone, and answered.

"Olivia Pope?"

"Livvie. Good morning, sunshine."

Olivia couldn't hide the smirk on her face if she wanted to.

"Morning, sir. How are you?"

"Better now that I hear your voice."

The conversation continued lightly for a few more moments. Fitz had every intention of calling her and setting up a date on his turf to make her sweat and reveal the truth. He thought at least he could get a kick out of it while lightening the situation. Olivia beat him to the punch.

"So, I was wondering…."Olivia started.

Fitz was quiet as a mouse.

"I mean, I hate how we….well you know, I just wanted to….can we talk?" Olivia was struggling with her words-something she NEVER did.

It took everything inside Fitz to not burst into laughter.

"We are talking, Liv."

Olivia sighed.

Fitz bit his lip to not laugh.

_Silence_

"Do you want to come have dinner with me Friday night? Harper will be with one of her girlfriends so we should have some privacy." Olivia finally found the words she was looking for only to have Fitz play hard to get.

"Why, Miss Pope, are you asking me out? Why on earth would you need privacy? From what I can tell, Harp is comfortable around me."

Olivia sat on her bed and tried not to stutter anymore.

"Fitz, it's just an offer. I figured you would like some quiet time and a home cooked meal and maybe we can….catch up."

"We already caught up at the party, Olivia. So now why don't you tell me what this is really all about?" Fitz voice put off certain sternness, but if you were sitting his face, you wouldn't be able to not laugh at his expression.

"Fine. It's fine. I just thought…" Olivia sighed and got quiet.

Fitz finally decided to chuckle a little and ease her mind. "Olivia, I would love to. I am allergic to Cinnamon, but a home cooked meal sounds wonderful."

Olivia was so shocked, she didn't think about what came out of her mouth next. "Oh, no worries there. Harper is too. I don't even keep it in the house, so…"

"She is?" Fitz asked.

Olivia froze as if Fitz could see her.

"Uh, yeah. Weird hunh?" She was trying to downplay her sudden bluntness. I'll text you my address. How does 7PM sound?"

"Great. Have a nice day, Olivia."

"You too, Fitz."

Olivia disconnected the call and fell back on the bed. She was inwardly terrified of Fitz' reaction, but was hopeful that he would at least give her a chance to explain herself. She quickly gathered herself and headed out to the kitchen to share breakfast with her leading lady.

/

The week seemed to fly by and before she knew it, it was Friday and Olivia was in the grocery store gathering ingredients for her dinner with Fitz. She planned something simple. Rosemary chicken, asparagus, and macaroni and cheese were on the menu. She had become obsessed with it when she was pregnant with Harper and this NEVER changed. Harper didn't mind it all the time as it was her favorite dish as well.

Olivia got home, got Harper ready to go to her friend's house, and did some last minute cleaning. It was now 5:30PM and she needed to go shower and change clothes. She opted for something comfortable simple. She wore her favorite pair of black tights, a loose-fitting coral long sleeve top, and accented it with wooden bangles on her wrist. She applied minimal mascara and opted for Baby Lips instead of a full face, as tonight was promised a few tears, and she swept her mid back length hair into a side ponytail, draped over her shoulder. She quickly sprayed her favorite perfume on her pulse points and gave herself a once over in the mirror. She then began a ritual she had started long ago. Pep talking herself.

_Ok Olivia, FOCUS._

_You can do this. _

_All you need to do it get through dinner and be completely honest. _

_Try not to beat around the bush too much, but don't just force it out…_

_He will think you don't give a damn. Be yourself, only different. _

_What the hell does that mean?_

_Ok, be gentle, but honest. After all, he deserves the truth. Right?_

_RIGHT. _

She opted to not bring out the scrapbooks of Harper's life until she was certain Fitz wouldn't run like the wind when she told him. She remained barefoot, trying to keep the atmosphere in the room light and comfortable.

She was opening the oven to take out the chicken when her doorbell rang. She burned herself being too nervous. She sprinted to the door, her finger in her mouth to cool off the burning, gave herself another once over in the mirror by the door, and opened.

Fitz stood outside for about 30 seconds before he actually found the nerve to sound the doorbell. Tom was leaning against the car watching his buddy and prayed for strength. Fitz could pretend this didn't bother him if he wanted, but even if it was a little bit, Tom figured he HAD to be nervous. Fitz stood there with one hand in his pocket and the other holding half a dozen white lilies. He opted to wear a nice pair of dark jeans and a turquoise button down. He remembered how she loved red wine and made sure to bring a bottle as well.

He had already rehearsed what he would say when she opened the door, but when she did, he was completely speechless.

There she was.

So beautiful.

He was speechless.

She was….PERFECT.

**A/N: I hate to do it, but I have to stop right here for now…..**

**I'm actually at work right now, but the ideas keep popping up in my head so I had to make this chapter NOW. I know it's short…the plan is to update again with the dinner tonight when I get home and settled. If it doesn't happen, don't worry! I can't quit writing about these two yet! **

**PS: I promise the future chapters will be longer. **


	4. Chapter 4

AN: It's Dinner time! Enjoy!

Olivia stepped aside, allowing Fitz entry into her home. At first, Fitz was nervous. As he stood on the porch waiting on her to open the door, he wondered if he could handle everything that was going to be discussed. The moment he laid eyes on her, he knew everything would be alright.

"Liv…You look…radiant."

Olivia blushed. "It's nothing, Fitz. But thank you." He handed her the lilies he had in his hand and the bottle of wine, and kissed her lightly on the cheek.

Olivia had to focus, almost dropping both the lilies and the wine when his lips caressed her cheek. His scent was nothing short of amazing. As she walked into the kitchen to deposit the gifts, her mind replayed that moment over and over. She was almost in a complete daze.

When she returned from the kitchen, she noticed Fitz standing in front of her fireplace. He was looking carefully at all the pictures on the wall. There was a picture that looked like a newborn baby and he assumed this was Harper. He kept moving to the right as he looked at each picture. There was several of Olivia and Harper, Harper and other kids, and Harper and what appeared to be an older couple. He was about to ask if these were Olivia's parents when Olivia interrupted his thought process.

"Dinner's ready."

Fitz fell out of the trance he was in. He felt like he was just meeting Harper for the first time. _This might be harder than I imagined…._he thought.

Dinner was comfortable quiet for the most part. The only awkward times were when both would look at the other at the same time, simultaneously making eye contact. They made light conversation about the weather, politics, and the music business.

Fitz decided since dinner was over, it was time to turn up the heat. He helped Olivia clear the table and wash dishes against her wishes.

"So, I know you didn't invite me over here to talk about the 10 day forecast and how shitty managers can be….or maybe you did." Fitz winked at Olivia and she was instantly ashamed in herself for how turned on she was.

"You're right. I didn't. Please." She gestured for Fitz to join her in walking towards the Family room. The room itself looked so inviting. The walls were a beautiful maroon color. NOTHING like the outline of white he had seen in all the other rooms. The couches were brown soft leather, and a fluffy rug was in the center of the room. The entertainment center included PS3, Xbox, and Wii, and a projector pointing to the adjacent wall. A huge flat screen TV was there as well as blue ray players and a collection of movies that made Fitz wonder if he had been wasting his time flipping through TV channels all these years. There was several beanbag chairs and few gamer chairs as well. Fitz and Olivia took a seat on the couch. She attempted to leave a good bit of room between them.

"I don't even know where to start." Olivia felt her throat begin to constrict. She felt her breathing increase and all of a sudden she wondered if someone had flipped on the heat by accident.

"Olivia, whatever it is,-"

"NO!" Olivia stopped herself. She was growing flustered and for some reason she wanted this to be painful for her. She felt like she deserved it. When she yelled, Fitz smirk grin he had behind her back all of a sudden faded and he grew concerned. _I can't help her. I have to let her tell me. She HAS to tell me on her own or there's no hope for us…._

"First of all, let me start off by asking that you PLEASE hear the entire story out before you ask questions or pass judgement. Can you do that?"

"Ok Liv, but you are starting to scare me." Fitz really was growing more and more concerned. When he came over tonight, he had every intention of making her sweat for all she had done but as time passed all he wanted to do was take her into his arms and rock away her fears.

"Fitz, Harper is….she's….Harper is your….OUR daughter."

Silence.

Olivia didn't make eye contact with Fitz. She kept her gaze at the floor when she spoke this.

"What did you say?"

Olivia stood and began to pace in circles. For a split second Fitz wondered if she was going to start leaving smoke or get carpet burn since she was walking so fast.

"Harper is ours. That night….that night we….I was on the pill. But I was also still taking antibiotics from a previous cold. I was over the cold. WELL over it, but the doctor suggested I continue to take the meds. I became very ill about 8 weeks later and ended up passing out. When I came to, my parents and now coworkers were around me. My doctor explained I was severely dehydrated and 2 months pregnant. I was…I was devastated. I hadn't slept with anyone but you, and I knew your reputation and what you would say so I didn't say anything to you. I kept this secret from you for so long. I knew when I had Harper I needed to call you. I knew that. But I couldn't. I couldn't face what I had done. Ever since then, I have wanted to tell you but in my head it didn't seem like a good enough time to reveal this. I don't know how long I was going to wait but I swear I was going to tell you. I saw how you began to blow up with your music and I didn't want you to think I was just another money crazy woman who chased and cornered a man into paying for a kid. I didn't want your….your lifestyle to affect Harper so I kept her hidden until….until…" Olivia was rambling on and Fitz finally found a moment to interrupt her.

"Until fate brought my daughter to attention." Fitz didn't realize he was crying. In that moment, he knew he was crying for the pain Olivia had been through, the missed memories, the birthdays, the scrapes and cuts, the firsts, and the lasts. He quickly wiped the tears that had fallen. New ones were already beginning to appear in his eyes.

"I don't deserve your forgiveness. I don't deserve ANYTHING, but Harper deserves to know her father."

Fitz cleared throat before he began. "Does she know?"

"No. I wanted you to be there with me when I told her. I wanted you to be right by her side when I told her.

"You wanted me to be by YOUR side, Olivia." And with that statement, Fitz stood and walked right past Olivia and out the front door.

/

Olivia stood stock still as she watched her front door close behind him. She felt as if weight had been lifted from her shoulders, but watching him walk away made the weight drop back to its place. She wanted to run after him. Scream and cry and beg for forgiveness but she couldn't move. Her feet would not move. Her mouth would not speak. She just stared at the door.

Fitz stood outside the front door. This was exactly how his plan was supposed to go in his head. He was going to act shocked and feign ignorance…except…he wasn't playing shocked. It rocked him to the core to hear her confession about him. He knew he had is fair share of women in the past but Olivia had been the only one to rock his foundation. His core. His heart.

He stood still outside her door. He could hear what sounded like quiet sobs coming from inside the home. It was at that instant that his mind was shut off and his heart began to operate his body.

Olivia had crouched down to her knees.

She cried.

Hard.

Sobs.

She thought this would be easier, but she knew she deserved every bit of what she felt. She was rocking back and forth in place on the floor when she heard her front door open. She didn't look up-no she didn't need his pity look. She needed it to hurt. To burn so she would feel what he was feeling.

When Fitz saw her perched on the floor, he walked over to her and grabbed her up by her shoulders. The shock look in her eyes told him she thought he had left.

The storm grey in his eyes told her that he had shed more than a few tears outside. They stood there for a moment, just staring at each other. It felt like it had that night so many years ago. Fitz stood there and he could swear he had fallen in love with her all over again.

Olivia didn't know what to do. Fitz wrapped her in his arms and she stood there. After taking in a few breaths, she felt her body begin to rock with sobs again as her arms slowly began to encase him back. After about ten seconds of hugging, Olivia pushed Fitz away. He stood there and stared at her.

"Olivia?"

"No. I need it to hurt. I need to feel the pain because I was wrong. I need to know how this feels." Olivia was shaking her head and staring at his feet. To say Fitz was more than concerned now was an understatement.

Fitz began to walk toward Olivia and she backed away, putting up her hands.

"Don't. Don't touch me. Don't hug me. Don't be nice to me. I don't deserve any of it. Yell at me. Curse, throw something. I don't care. But don't be nice to me. PLEASE," Olivia cried.

Fitz walked right up to her as if she hadn't said a word.

He grabbed her shoulders and turned her to look at him. Gone was the sarcastic ass that sat at the table during dinner. Now he was a man watching the woman he loved cry uncontrollably and he could only do what any man should do.

He consoled her.

"Olivia, listen to me." Fitz pleaded.

She shook her head, still trying to free from his grip.

"NO. I said listen to me." Olivia broke free and began to march towards the kitchen. She just needed to get away for a moment….

"Stop walking! OLIVIA CAROLYN POPE! I SAID STOP WALKING."

Olivia froze in her tracks. She didn't turn around or dare utter another word.

"Come over here and sit down. PLEASE."

Olivia complied with his request. She sat on the other end of the couch, trying to read his voice without seeing his face.

"Livvie, I already knew."

She felt her breath hitch at his confession.

"Hunh?"

"I knew. When I first saw Harper I was fascinated with her. Never before had I been that enamored with ANYONE. Let alone a teenager. When she opened her mouth to sing, it was like I was hearing an angel sing. At that after party, when I hugged her and watched her eyes dance about like mine do, I knew. Please…Olivia please stop this. You are going to hurt yourself."

Olivia couldn't look at him. They were sitting knees to knees looking at each other. Fitz reached up and wiped a tear from her cheek.

"Sweet baby…please stop crying."

"Fitz…I don't know what to say."

He sat back on the couch, extending his legs, and pulled Olivia back with him. She sat straight up at first, then it was as if a magnet took over her body and she instantly curled up to him. She didn't know why she felt like this was so right. _I don't even know him anymore…_she thought.

Fitz caressed and relaxed her until their breathing eventually became in sync. He felt her relax into his chest and this in turn relaxed him.

After so many minutes of silence, Fitz began to speak.

"I'm not going anywhere. I'm right here. I've missed so much already, Liv. I don't want to miss another second of anything that happens with Harper. I should have been there for the doctors' appointments, when you found out she was a girl, the late night cravings, the baby showers, the birth- I should have been and I feel bad that I missed it but I WON'T miss anything else. Please just allow me to be there for Harper-for YOU."

Olivia couldn't explain why, but the way he spoke to her made her calmer than she had been in a long time. She moved to look him in the eyes and saw hope there.

"I'm sorry. I'm SO sorry, Fitz. I shouldn't have taken away your choice." Her voice was beginning to crack.

"For the record…I didn't find out she was a girl until birth. I wanted it to be a surprise. One less thing for me to worry and stress over." She heard Fitz let out a breath and she did as well. She could tell he was smiling without even looking back up at him.

"Olivia, can start over? I know I wasn't exactly Casanova back then, but a lot has changed. Life has changed me. YOU changed me. I can't be without-I just want to be here." He felt her tense up at his words.

"I won't stop you. She needs a father figure besides Huck. He can't sing like you can."

Fitz chuckled.

"How do we tell her, Livvie? You know her more than I do." Again, Olivia tensed at his question.

"We do our best and we tell her TOGETHER."

"And what about us?" Fitz was a bit nervous to ask this question, but he had gone far too long without her in his life.

Olivia sat up to look at him. She ran her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck and a stared into his eyes, brown meeting blue. Placing the other hand on his chest near his heart, she spoke softly to him.

"We have a lot to discuss and work out…but we are in this together." She didn't give him a chance to respond. She planted the sweetest, most innocent kiss on his cheek and he felt like he was melting away.

"We're in this together."

**AN: ok, so I think I'm going to stop here. I know there will probably be some of you who don't think this story is as realistic as it should be with Fitz being as easy going as he is, but he's MY version of Fitz and I love him this way. (An undercover softie) They have a long way to go, and the big reveal to Harper is coming up. I wonder how she will find out. **

**From here, there might be a slight time jump as well. I personally hate surprises, so I figured I'd share that with you guys. **

**Please remember that this is just fiction. I have rewritten this chapter several times because I wanted it to be semi-believable. Give it a chance and don't flake out on me! **

**Until next time…..**

**XOXO**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: HEY! Sorry it has taken me so long to update! Life has a way of just…happening. ANYWHO, without further ado, here's chapter 5!**

**Happy reading! **

**XOXO**

TBS

CH 5

"Mooooommmm!?" Olivia knew this call very well. Either something was missing, something was broken, something didn't go right, or all of the above. The sound she heard escape her daughter's lips meant only one thing. Trouble.

Olivia walked to the edge of the staircase.

"What, Harp?" she called up.

She heard small mumbling as she began to see her daughter descend the staircase. Harper wore a pair of nice fitting torn jeans, a Beatles T-shirt, and her hair was in a messy bun on top of her head. She had on a pair of classic white and black converse (which was the only thing she wore that actually looked new), a hit of lip gloss, a few white and black bracelets, and smelled of thousand wishes from bath and body works. Olivia knew something was up. She stood at the bottom of the staircase as Harper grew closer and waited for the shit to hit the fan.

Harper stopped about 4 steps from her mother.

"Mom, I can't find my-"Harper's voice halted when she noticed the hot pink phone charger in her mother's hand. Olivia kept her other hand behind her back.

"Uh, thanks. You didn't happen to see my-"Harper once again halted when she saw her mother wave her phone in her face. She felt her cheeks grow crimson and gave her mother a genuine smile as she took her phone. She was at a loss. Olivia had done it again…fix the issue before it became an issue.

Harper stared at her mother expectantly.

"THANK YOU MAMA would be nice, Harp."

Harper stuttered as she began to feel guilty for being ten seconds from throwing a hissy fit.

"Thank you, Mama." She descended the rest of the stairs and hugged her mother.

"I was hoping you would fix that tone before I had to come show you what a tone sounded like. I better not hear you calling your mother like she owes you anything, young lady. Understood?" Abby asked from the kitchen. Abby, or Auntie A to Harper, was known for her smart mouth and wit. Olivia felt deep down that even though Abby was of no blood relation to them, Abby's personality DEFINITELY showed in Harper.

"No, Auntie A. I corrected myself. My bad, Mom." Harper slumped down on the couch, followed by Abby with a bowl of pretzels and a water bottle. Olivia walked behind the couch, shaking Harper's bun on her head before finally sitting down near the other ladies.

Abby picked up a pretzel and went to take a bite, but froze.

"Ok, I'll give you credit for pulling off the grunge look, Harp. It's working for you. I'll even give you SOME credit on that semi-ok fragrance….but what on earth is on your lips? Clear lip gloss? Clean pair of Chuck Taylors?" Abby confronted Harper.

Harper found a spot on her jeans and began to pick at it.

Olivia smiled, knowing Abby was about to bring out the truth-the truth she hadn't been able to coerce from her daughter since she agreed to let her hang out with her new found friends from the awards ceremony last month.

"What's his name?"

Harper took a deep breath and finally slouched down into the couch cushions.

"Nick."

Abby gave Olivia a knowing look and continued.

"And all of this-"Abby waved her hand signaling Harper's appearance,"Is for him, I assume?"

"Auntie A, he's a really sweet boy. He loves the Beatles just as much as I do. We really connected that night at the party. We are just friends, but he is really cute." It wasn't lost on Olivia how Harper and Abby were ALWAYS honest with each other. Abby was the aunt Harper didn't have. Olivia loved it.

"Just remember what I say, Harps. My hair isn't red for no reason. I get angry FAST when it comes to the ones I love, honey, and I would hate for something to happen to 'Nick' and his little musical crew." Abby was very protective of Harper.

"OH, GOSH! It's not like that! I promise!" harper's cheeks began to burn and she looked to Olivia for help. Olivia gave her a look that said _Abby's right._ Harper knew she was loved and protected and she was grateful. She only wished her aunt would show her softer side a little more.

Abby went on for a few more minutes, making sure Harper remembered all the warning signs of something going wrong. Harper's bodyguard and driver arrived to take her to the location her and her friends would be- the band member's home, fully secured, several bodyguards of their own, their parents, and other neighborhood celebrity kids.

After Harper said her goodbyes and Abby was sure she was gone, she began to lay into Olivia.

"SO, how did it go?"

Olivia sat back on the chair she was in and crossed her legs at the ankles, stretching them out in front of her and taking a deep breath.

"Better than I could have hoped for actually. He said he already knew."

Abby's ears perked up at this. Olivia knew she better put that fire out before it grew.

Olivia continued, "He said when he took one look at Harper, he could just….tell."

Abby was inwardly proud of the douche bag she had come to know as Fitz. She knew what had happened between the two ways back when, and had been there to pick up the pieces of Olivia and put them back together after they split. She remembered how broken Olivia had felt when she found out she was pregnant by the fly-boy player and how she had tried to convince her friend to tell the man she fell in love with after one night about their child. Abby had expected the same jerkoff Fitz to be present, but instead she was surprised when Olivia called her after the party and explained the situation to her, mentioning how she felt like Fitz had changed.

Abby was still on guard.

"Well, thank God for that. When are you guys gonna tell Harps? How do you think she will react?"

Olivia took another deep breath. "We are gonna tell her soon. Fitz wants to be a part of her life as soon as she will allow it, and it's gonna take some time. I'm kind of hoping it doesn't take Harper long to come to terms and that she takes after him on that accord."

"Liv, did you see how the child acted over a misplaced device and charger? She thought the world was gonna end if I read the Mickey Mouse club texts between her and her beloved Nick." Abby chuckled at Olivia's reaction. She guessed Olivia didn't know she had snuck a peek at her niece's text history.

"Abby! Really? Isn't that my place?" Olivia laughed, but was party serious.

"Maybe so, but if you want a boyband frat boy to lay the moves on Harper and get something from her she isn't ready to give, then you let me know." Abby said as she shoved another pretzel in her mouth. Olivia had to admit that Abby's watchful eye made her feel more comfortable.

Abby continued, "Harper is bright, beautiful, and very smart. I don't doubt for a minute anyone could pull some quick in-your-panties bullshit on her, but I can't help but-"

Olivia cut her off. "I know. Me either."

The women finished their conversation and said their goodbyes. Olivia hadn't told Abby, but part of the reason she let her daughter go with her new friends is so that she was in a guaranteed good mood when she and Fitz broke the news to her later that evening. Fitz had been by a few more times, a couple of which he and Harper had hung together like Christmas decorations. Harper's hidden talent was that she was an intense gamer and Fitz fell into stride with her. They often discussed books, school, music and theatre, and anything else Harper felt comfortable with sharing with Fitz. She loved to hear his input and he loved giving it just as much.

The pair had grown attached at the hip, and Harper even made a few comments when she noticed how her mother and Fitz would lock eyes and stare at each other as if no one else was in the room. Harper had no idea that Fitz was her father. She only thought it was good for her mother to finally have a crush on someone and act on it.

Olivia poured herself a glass of red wine and stood at the kitchen. She knew this had to be done and as she glanced over at the picture of her daughter on the wall, she couldn't help but think about how she didn't want to hurt her daughter. She was terrified of Harper's response, and prayed to God that things went smoothly.

/

Across town, Fitz was currently nursing his second glass of scotch in 20 minutes.

"Fitz, you good?"

Fitz turned to see Tom sitting with one foot crossed on the other knee sipping his own liquid courage. He was somewhat afraid of the outcome of tonight and was trying to drink away his nervousness and in some courage.

"Yeah, I'm alright. I thought it was crazy impossible to fall for someone at first glance until I met Liv. I didn't think it would happen again so strong until Harper floated into my life. I just worry her will take off on me and the progress we have made…" Fitz trailed off. Tom finished his sentence.

"Will have been in vain."

Fitz eyed his friend.

/

At a quarter to seven, Fitz knocked on Olivia's door. After she let him in, they exchanged hugs and a few kisses on the cheeks. They sat in kitchen again, this time the air already being clear and the plan was in place.

"SO, what do you think she will say?" Fitz asked.

Olivia looked him in his eyes and he could tell she was a ball of nerves. "I have no idea. I hope this isn't too much for her."

Fitz took this as an opportunity to open another conversation up.

"What do you think about me helping out more with her music?"

Olivia stared at him as if he had two heads.

"Like?"

"Like, maybe helping write a few songs or giving my input on her instrumentals. I think I want to be more hands on with her. After all, I've missed so much already, I don't wanna miss much else." Fitz hadn't meant for that to come out as strained as it did. Olivia immediately picked up on his tone and began to use a tone herself.

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"Really, Liv? You need me to spell it out for you?"

Olivia rose from the table and walked towards her sink. She didn't want to argue with Fitz in anyway, but he was sure as hell pushing her buttons.

"Look, she already has a great group of people that-"

"Olivia, you don't seem to be listening to what I am saying. I want to be in a few of those roles. I want to try to make up for lost time. I want to be right there alongside her because it scares me half to death thinking there might be someone out there attempting music when they are no good and messing with her career and reputation." Fitz was now standing right behind Olivia.

"I just want her to be happy. I want her to be successful and I've noticed how she responds to what I say. I have a song and it's really good, Livvie. I want harper to sing it. I want us to sing it-together. As Father and Daughter.

Olivia had turned to face Fitz and was lost in his eyes. Neither noticed the patio door being slid open, Harper wandering inside and following voices, or her standing now in the doorway of the kitchen until she dropped both her phone and keys.

When their eyes met hers, everyone in the room froze.

Olivia felt her stomach doing cartwheels as she stood there thinking Harper was not supposed to be home yet.

Fitz felt his mouth go dry.

Harper felt her legs beginning to grow weak. Her mouth made the perfect "O" shape as she stared at her mother and who she was beginning to think of as her mother's boyfriend and a really good friend of hers.

_Did he just say….Father?_

"Harper?" Fitz attempted to step forward after what seemed like a good silent 5 minutes. To his surprise, Harper held her hands up almost in defeat and took a step backward. Olivia finally snapped back into reality and prayed for God to put the right words in her mouth.

"Munchkin, why don't you come and sit down with us?"

Harper felt herself shaking. She was such a calm collected person that being angry was almost a foreign concept to her.

"Us? US!? How about I don't."

Harper turned on her heels to leave the kitchen when she heard her mother's voice.

"Harper. Come sit down so we can discuss this as a family."

"A family? I don't have a family with EITHER of you because YOU ignored me for 13 years and YOU LIED TO ME. Families don't do that type shit to each other." Harper had NEVER in her life cursed. She had also NEVER met her birth father until now. _Guess today is full of firsts, _she thought.

"Harper! Apologize to- "Before Olivia could finish her sentence, her once innocent sweet caring daughter was leaving the kitchen. Fitz stepped up toward Olivia. He linked his fingers with hers and pulled her into the Den of the house. They sat side by side waiting on Harper to return from upstairs.

"She's never like this. I'm sorry, Fitz."

"Its fine, Liv. She needs time. We just need to sit here and wait for her to come to us."

Fifteen minutes.

Thirty minutes.

Forty-five minutes had passed Olivia convinced Fitz that she should go check on her?

"Harp, open up. It's me and we need to talk." Olivia did get an answer. Fitz stood halfway up the stairs listening to what he hoped would be a fair confrontation.

"FITZ!" Fitz was up the remaining steps and into Harper's room before he knew it.

The look on Olivia's face was all he needed to know.

"She's gone! My baby's gone!"

**Sorry so short! To be clear, the time jump is about 1 month. Hopefully I'll have a bit more time to write next time. Until then, happy reading!**

**XOXO**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: YAY! Chapter 6! I am so overwhelmed by the response I have received on this story. You guys don't know how good it feels to read the reviews. Some of you had mixed responses to that last chapter and I completely understand. Just BARE WITH ME! We will get thru this together. **

**Be sure to review this chapter…I'm sure there will be a mixed response to this one as well. **

**Happy reading!**

**XOXO**

TBS

CH 6

Olivia jumped awake from her nap on the couch. After Abby and Harper had left earlier that day, she decided to rest her eyes for a while. This turned into a 3 hour nap on the couch and a nightmare of Harper leaving when she found out the truth. Olivia laid on the couch, staring at the ceiling fan above her and trying to calm her heart rate down. She prayed she wouldn't have to experience this kind of reaction for real as she didn't know what she would do if she lost her daughter.

She got up and went to check the time. It was 5PM and becoming dusk dark. Harper wasn't due to be home for another couple of hours and Olivia thought she would use this time wisely. She padded into the kitchen to pour herself a glass of red wine. She took a sip and turned toward the fridge. She noticed a picture of her and Harper doing pottery. Harper was sitting between her mother's legs and both had clay on their faces and hands. The smiles were a million watts, and Olivia could recall that day as if it were yesterday.

_FLASHBACK_

_Harper was cute as a button in her black tights and plaid button up to match her mother's. Both had their hair in messy buns on top of their heads and were prepared to get messy. Harper had seen pottery done at a craft show before and begged Olivia to take her a while back. Olivia, of course, couldn't resist. _

_When the ladies arrived at the local pottery store for their lesson, Harper was thrilled. At first, the ladies were awful at it, slinging wet clay all over the room and erupting in a fit of giggles. This was one of the things Olivia loved the most about her daughter- she wasn't afraid of getting dirty. _

_When the mood finally calmed, both ladies had calmed and Harper was now on her own spin beside her mother. A little girl entered the facility with what appeared to be her father and Olivia could see Harper's 9 year old wheels turning. She braced herself for what was to come. _

"_Mom?"_

"_Yes, Harp?"_

"_Mom, do I have a dad?" There it was. Olivia slowed the motion of her own turntable and glanced at her daughter. Harper took this moment of silence to continue. _

"_I mean, from what we learned in the 'about your body' course at school, I'm certain at one point I DID have one but where is he now?" _

_Olivia felt her cheeks begin to flush as images of Fitz began to flood her mind. It never ceased to amaze her that her daughter had been able to render her speechless since she was 2. _

_Olivia thought for a moment on how she wanted to approach this conversation. _

"_Yeah, you did-DO have a father, Harp. He isn't around because-"Before Olivia could finish her sentence, Harper interrupted her. _

"_Cause I know this girl in my class, her name is Ellasyn, and she doesn't see her daddy either. James was sitting with me and Ellasyn a few days ago and he said his family was better cause he had a mommy and daddy." _

"_What did Ellasyn say?" Olivia was a bit shocked. She knew kids could be curious, but she didn't think their conversations held this much weight at a young age. She made a mental note to find out more about the kids and their talks more often. _

"_Ellasyn said her mommy told her that she was a gift from God and that even though physically you need a mommy and daddy, there's no less love because you are missing one or the other." _

_Olivia stared into her daughter's cerulean blue eyes that matched her unnamed father and felt her heart break. One day, I swear I'll tell her, she thought. _

"_Come here, munchkin." Harper abandoned her artwork and sat back between her mother's legs. _

"_Sweet girl, I want you to always remember this. Ellasyn was absolutely right. You do have a father, but just because he isn't around doesn't mean we don't have just as much love as James and his family. I love you unconditionally- more than anything else in this world, do you understand me?" _

_Harper's eyes now matched her mother's as far as being big and doe like, but still had that beautiful blue glow to them. _

"_Yes ma'am. I understand, Mommy. I love you." Harper wrapped her clay covered hands around her mother's neck and Olivia hugged her daughter with everything she had in her at that point. The father/daughter duo that had entered the establishment stared on in amazement, and while Olivia and Harper weren't looking, the owner of the craft place snapped a photo of them laughing together. She presented it to Olivia and Harper as they left the store. _

PRESENT

Olivia felt a single tear slide down her eye. She quickly wiped it away as she began to walk back into the living room.

"OHHHH! Harper?" Olivia hadn't heard her daughter come thru the door, but she was now walking into the room. She froze at the sight of her mother.

"Mom? I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." Harper dropped her purse on the couch and plopped down beside it. Olivia knew something was up so she decided to tread lightly, wanting to give Harper a little independence.

"Everything alright, Harp?"

"Yeah, I'm not really feeling all that well. Kinda under the weather I guess. I'll be fine. Whatcha been doin? Miss me?" Harper asked her mother with exaggerated eyebrow rises.

Olivia couldn't help but laugh at her daughter's antics. She could be such a clown.

"You know, I do have a life outside of your world, Harps." Olivia laughed at her daughter, but noticed how she winced when she laughed.

Olivia immediately snapped into fixer mode. "Where does it hurt, Harp?"

"My left side, but it's really nothing, Mom. I promise. Is Fitz coming over today?"

Olivia smiled, "He should be here any minute, actually."

Harper's eyes lit up. "Mom, I don't wanna intrude on your date, or whatever, but do you think…."

"Out with it, Harp." Olivia didn't like when Harper beat around the bush.

"Well, I have a new song. I got the music from a spare instrumental with Nick and his buddies, but I have words to it. I came up with them in the car on the way home. Do you think we can go in the studio for a while? I wanna see what Fitz thinks."

Olivia's mind went back to her dream and how she didn't want Fitz to be involved with Harper's music. She felt awful for feeling that, but to be honest, she didn't know why in her dream she didn't want him to help. She would love to see him and Harper work together in music. EVERYTHING Fitz touched sounded astounding and turned to gold. His ear for music was unbelievable and Harper was hot on his heels.

"Mom?"

"Yeah Harp. That sounds great. He probably wasn't expecting you to be here this early, but it won't mess anything up."

An hour later, all three were in the recording booth. Olivia and Fitz sat outside the glass listening to Harper lay down the lyrics for her song. She didn't want them to hear it just yet as she wanted to match intonation and lyrics before she sang it outright.

Fitz couldn't deny how fuzzy it felt to watch his daughter in the booth like that. She had the same look of determination on her face that he held when he was concentrating on something. He was so proud of her, he had a hard time expressing it in words. _The song I have written for us will be a perfect way of showing her how I feel once the time is right, _he thought.

There was a comfortable silence in the room as both parents watched their child hard at work in the studio. They sat side by side, complimenting her abilities and how she seemed to be so mature for the music business.

When it was finally time to sing the song and open the audio so everyone could hear music and her singing at the same time, Fitz took a seat at the sound board. Harper placed the headphones over hear ears and sat on a stool in front of the mic. Fitz noticed how she winced as she crossed her long caramel legs and he flipped on the mic to ask her if she was ok.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Ready when you are." Harper tried to convince her father as she rubbed her neck back and forth.

The song was beautiful. Fitz sat in awe as he watched his daughter command the room with her voice. She was singing and he was on the verge of tears.

You're the light, you're the night  
You're the color of my blood  
You're the cure, you're the pain  
You're the only thing I wanna touch  
Never knew that it could mean so much, so much

(Harper tucked her hair behind her ear as she sang)

You're the fear, I don't care  
Cause I've never been so high  
Follow me to the dark  
Let me take you past our satellites  
You can see the world you brought to life, to life

So love me like you do, love me like you do  
Love me like you do, love me like you do  
Touch me like you do, touch me like you do  
What are you waiting for…..

The music kept going but Harper stopped singing. Both Fitz an Olivia looked up and saw their only child begin to hold her head and fall to the side. Her blue eyes began to roll in the back of her head and the headphones began to slip down to her neck. She raised her hand as if she was going to grab her head, and Fitz was up and thru the door before Harper could smash her head on the concrete floor too hard. He grabbed her head, tossed his phone to Olivia, and yelled the first thing he could think of.

"CALL 911! NOW!"

AN: PLOT TWIST! I know, I couldn't resist. I love them so much, and after I reread that last chapter over and over a few times, I wanted to spice up how Harper finds out. SO…how do you guys think it will play out?

Leave me reviews and ideas! You guys keep me pumped and fueled.

Till next time!

I OWN NOTHING! CHARACTERS BELONG TO SHONDA RHIMES, AND LYRICS/SONG/ALL MUSIC RIGHTS BELONG TO ELLIE GOULDING.

XOXO!


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: SURPRISE! Another chapter in 1 day! What can I say? I'm in the writing mood…don't be surprised if I have an update for TFTH tonight too! You guys are SOOOOO supportive of my writing and I really appreciate it. I love to write and sometimes I make mistakes too even though I read and reread my stuff before I post it. Thanks for those of you who corrected me in my errors….I will also try making these next few chapters a bit longer than usual. Some of you have figured out how Harper will find this out…but how will she react?**

**SIDE NOTE: What about scandal Thursday though? THANK GOD Olivia figured Russell out! (HINT: if you don't know by now, never trust Brian White in a movie! Usually, he's the villain. SEXY? YES! But BAD? YEP.**

**Happy reading! **

**XOXO**

Breathe.

Just Breathe.

Fitz tried to tell himself this as he paced back and forth thru the waiting room of the emergency room. About 20 minutes ago, Harper had been rolled back to the imaging center of the hospital to take an MRI and CAT scan of her head since she took a pretty nasty clunk to the skull. Fitz tried his best to stay calm. After all, Olivia had remained calm. She was now in the bathroom as he just paced back and forth in the waiting area, waiting for news he hoped wouldn't rock him to the Core.

Down the hall in the bathroom, Olivia had barricaded herself in the handicapped stall of the ladies' restroom. She was crouched down with her knees to her chest, breathing hard as all types of awful scenarios went through her head.

_What could it be? Maybe exhaustion? Maybe she's just stressed? Maybe she has the congenital heart defect that runs in our family….maybe there's something that runs in Fitz' family that I don't know about because I was TOO STUPID TO…_Olivia's thoughts and panic attack were interrupted by a young dark haired woman knocking on the door.

"Excuse me, Ma'am? Are you alright?"

SILENCE.

Olivia didn't want anyone hearing her this way. She surely didn't want Fitz finding her this way because truth be told, she hadn't quite forgiven herself for what she had done to him. She deep down still felt like she needed to hurt to even the score between them.

Fitz continued pacing, ignoring the few passing people who seemed to notice who he was, but didn't have the guts to walk up to him upset and speak to him. Just as his mind was about to go into overdrive, the same dark haired woman from the hospital came walking up to him. He recognized her. She wore pale pink scrubs and her hair was the color of oak. Her name tag read Quinn, and Fitz remembered how rude he was to her as they exited the ambulance. She was trying to separate him from his-

"SIR!? HELLO?" Quinn said with a bit of force behind it.

Fitz stopped pacing and locked eyes with the young lady. She looked every bit as irritated as she probably was and he thought at first she was coming to lay into his ass again. _Great…._

"Sir, I don't mean to startle you, but-"

"What do you want? Do you have any news about the person I came in with? Otherwise, I don't have time for-"

"I don't want your autograph. Matter of fact, I don't really care for your music, but I am at WORK. This is my JOB. I am trying to bring attention to the female who escorted you in here. I believe she is in the bathroom having a panic attack. She needs assistance and I don't want to have to call security and have two patients on a table for you to worry about!" Quinn was talking so fast, Fitz had no choice but to listen to what she said.

About 30 seconds later, Fitz entered the bathroom. He followed Quinn's gaze to the larger stall and stooped down to speak to Olivia under the door.

"Livvie? Liv, open the door, sweet baby."

Quinn's eyes perked up and she reached into her scrub top pocket…

Olivia was quiet as a mouse. Any given day she would have been utterly disgusted to be sitting on the bathroom floor, but when Fitz took a seat beside her on the floor, she forgot all that. She reached under the door grabbing his hand and he began to draw lazy circles into her wrist.  
"Liv, we need to go out and wait for the doctor or someone with some word on Harper."

Fitz could hear her breathing become calmer and he figured he was doing the right thing. He continued.

"Livvie, we have to talk to Harper. We have to tell her the truth about who she is. We have to be strong for her because if the last hour and a half has taught me anything, it's time waits for no one. So get up, Liv. Get up and come with me. I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere.

Olivia slowly let go of Fitz hand and opened the stall door. She looked a complete mess to the outside world but to Fitz she still looked dazzling.

They embraced for a moment, neither noticing the sneaky oak head leaving the bathroom.

/

They sat.

And waited.

And sat.

And waited.

Hand in hand, not saying much to each other, and the only thing keeping them both calm was the touch and breathing of the one sitting next to them. A dark haired doctor emerged from the double doors, looking for the parents of Miss Harper Pope. Both Olivia and Fitz stood up.

"Hello, I'm Dr. David Rosen. Nice to meet you. Please, sit down."

As the pair began to sit, Olivia heard the unparalleled screams of her angry haired best friend coming from down the hall.

"Dammit, I asked you a question. What the fuck do you mean you can't tell me? DO I NEED TO COME BACK THERE AND-"

"Abby!" Olivia's voice scared even herself. She didn't think she was going to yell like that.

Abby's green eyes shot around and found Olivia and she bolted away from the robust nurse she was about to beat the brakes off of.

"Abby, sit. The doctor just came out."

David continued, "Harper has a pretty sever concussion. I'm afraid if you hadn't caught her head when you had, the injury could have been worse. Also, among further testing, Harper seems to have an internal bleed in her kidney. We are currently prepping her for surgery, but she has a very rare type of blood. Rh-Negative is the hardest blood to match and we can never really keep it in stock. I will need to test the parents and see which of them is a match."

Fitz didn't hesitate. Rumors and media be damned… "Where do I go to donate?"

/

Olivia wasn't a match. Fitz knew he would be as he had been told the same story all his life about having rare blood. His mother used to joke that this was the reason he was so talented at almost everything he did. As Fitz exited the phlebotomy room, he made his way to the seat near Olivia and took his post against her once again. She leaned her head on his shoulder, and Fitz wondered if she was still in her right mind since she hadn't said a word. The Phlebotomist had given him a pack of crackers since he hadn't eaten that day and he attempted to give Olivia one of them.

She refused.

Olivia couldn't fathom what was going on. She knew her family tree like the back of her hand, but she also couldn't bring herself to ask Fitz if this ran in his family.

Fitz must have read her mind.

"Livvie, kidney issues run in my family. My mother has been living with only one kidney for as long as I can remember. This is a HUGE deal and I know this is not the time to give you this information, but I just wanted to ease your mind a little. The wheels in your head are starting to smoke."

Olivia looked into the only pair of eyes on earth that matched her daughter's and for the first time in hours, she smiled. Abby witnessed the exchange and rolled her eyes, turning her attention back to her phone. That's when she found out.

"HOLY FUCK!"

Both Fitz and Olivia looked at Abby like she had 3 heads.

"Oh my damn, Liv. Fitz…uh…Oh God." Abby stood to go to the window of the waiting room and peered down to the ground. Her green eyes growing larger as she watched the scene begin to unfold outside.

Fitz stood to walk toward Abby, but his eyes caught the television in the waiting room.

_**This is Alexa Calhoun with BREAKING NEWS. Harper Pope apparently has been hospitalized following an episode at her home in Vermont. Sources say Pope was transported in an ambulance and was brought to an unnamed facility. The source of this information was not forthcoming with details of what hospital, but this source DID provide us video proof. What you are about to see is raw footage from the scene. **_

_A video of Harper being unloaded from the ambulance appeared on the screen. Olivia was next to her holding her hand, and Fitz' back was to the camera. _

_**Wondering who the mystery man is? The source says its-GET THIS- Fitzgerald Grant! That's right, folks, Fitzgerald Grant III or FTG3 to his fans was seen hovering over Harper Pope along with her mother, Olivia, as she was wheeled into the hospital's emergency room. Grant appeared upset according to our source, which is a very reliable one. At this time, no further information has been provided but the source did say they had access to more proof and would provide as time allowed. We will continue to keep you informed on this breaking news and please, let's keep Harper and her family in our prayers. **_

Before the news bulletin could finish, Fitz could feel his blood begin to boil. Apparently, Olivia could too as she let go of his hand and went to the window beside Abby. Olivia peered out to the growing crowd forming in front of the hospital. They were equipped with signs that read "Get well, Harper" and pictures of her posted to boards waiving about. Before she knew what was happening, she was being escorted into a private waiting room with Fitz and Abby and a freakishly tall and large man was standing guard of the door. Olivia immediately recognized the man as Tom, Fitz' bodyguard.

"Sir, things are getting quite hellish outside-if I might say. For all of your safety, its best if you remain in this room until the doctor comes to update you."

Fitz hadn't been paying much attention. Instead, he was racking his brain trying to figure out who could have leaked the information to the press. As if a light bulb went off in his head, Nurse Quinn peeked her head into the door and asked if anyone needed anything. Olivia was about to smile and give the younger woman a kind no, but Fitz was like a dog being released off his chain.

"Five, videotaping patients has to be against some king of morale code or oath you took to become a nurse. Four, you can DENY doing this all you want, but the angle of that awful recording comes from where you were standing in beside me outside. Three, if you are going to try to remain anonymous and send information to the press, you should do a better job of hiding the name tag of your fellow coworkers that CLEARLY displays the name of this hospital. Two, my attorney will be contacting you and this hospital about my rights being violated, so this will be the LAST time we communicate-which brings me to ONE: IF I CATCH YOU ANYWHERE NEAR MY FAMILY AGAIN, THERE WILL BE HELL TO PAY. DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT THE FUCK I AM TELLING YOU!?"

By this time, Olivia was standing stock still with her arms around her torso, watching this unfold in front of her. Abby was the exact replica of Olivia as she stood in amazement. She didn't think Fitz had it in him. Fitz was now standing directly in front of Quinn, his face and ears a shade of red Olivia could only compare to a tomato, and Tom stood by but not in the way of his best friend and boss as he tore this ordinary looking nurse a new asshole.

"Ye-yes sir." Quinn managed to get out.

As she left, Quinn ducked into a utility closet. She immediately opened her phone, clicked send on the last bit of evidence and video, and quickly sent a text message to her buyer that she needed her pay ASAP.

Fitz was running on adrenaline, and when Dr. Rosen came back to inform them that Harper made it through her surgery ok but that she was still unconscious, he finally felt himself begin to calm down. The donation of blood and the rise of his blood pressure had taken a toll on him, and Olivia linked her arm with his as they followed the doctor to their daughter's room. Abby agreed to stay behind since only 2 people could be present in the ICU at a time.

Neither said a word. Both silently prayed….

/

_It's quiet. There's a beep. What the heck is that beeping noise? I already have a splitting headache. I can't wake up. I can't open my eyes. What is going on? AM I DEAD!? Ok, the beeping is getting louder and faster. I'm can't swallow, I can barely breathe. WHAT IS HAPPENING!? Calm down, Harp. Breathe. You're not dead unless Heaven has a heart monitor. _

_Yeah, that's it. It's a heart monitor. _

…_."Harp, Mommy's here, ok" _

_I can hear you, mom! I can feel you kiss me and run your hands through my hair. Please help me open my eyes! I can't talk….I can't-_

"_Harp, I'm here too, trooper. You did wonderful in your surgery-"_

_SURGERY!?_

"_You are going to pull through this just fine, sweetie. Rest up. Your mother and I will be right here when you wake up."_

_Really now….Why is that? Who cares…Fitz! Fitz, please help me! I want to open my eyes so bad, but I feel like I'm floating or something…._

"_Oh, Fitz! We should have told her. Now we HAVE to tell her. But in a hospital? This is a disaster!" _

"_Livvie, sweetie, she is a very level headed young lady. We will tell her. She will understand, and we will be ok."_

_Tell me what?_

"_Fitz, she has to be alright. Why hasn't she woken up yet?"_

_CLICK, CLICK, CLICK, harper imagines they are both on one side of her bed now. _

"_Livvie, Come here." _

"_Fitz…"Harper can hear her mother's sobs and she gives it her last shot to wake up. _

"_Livvie, we are ok. We are right here, and Harper will hear the truth from us. Screw the world and what they say. I am NOT letting anyone or anything hurt you or my daughter ever again. Do you understand me...?"_

_Say WHAT?_

Harper's eyes shot open to this confession and she witnessed through hooded tear filled eyes her mother and who she was just informed is her father embrace.

_My…My DAD?_

**AN: AHHHHH! 2 chapters, 2 cliffhangers! DON'T KILL ME! **

**You're welcome. **

**I might update again before the night is over…who knows? I'm a homebody and don't have anything else to do tonight. **

**Love you all! Review away! Your reviews give me ideas and juice to continue.**

**XOXO**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: Thank you so much for all the reviews! This chapter was harder for me to write mainly because I wanted it to be exactly what I imagined and include everything I had in mind. **

**Happy Reading! **

**XOXO**

**PS: I OWN NOTHING! ALL RIGHTS TO SR!**

TBS

CH 8

Harper lay there as still as a statue. She felt her eyes begin to water and couldn't tell if it were from the tube stuck down her throat or the information she had just heard.

_Fitz was her father. _

_She had a dad. _

_It wasn't theoretical anymore. _

_Did she deserve him?_

_Why was she just now finding this out?_

Harper felt so many emotions, she began to choke up, which aggravated her tubing, causing her to begin to choke. Fitz and Olivia both turned towards the teenager at the sound of her gurgling and gagging.

"Fitz! She's awake! Harp, Harp baby relax." Olivia cooed at her daughter. She sat on the edge of the bed, but her attempts to calm her daughter down failed as Harper's usually blue eyes were a dark shade of grey and her eyeballs red from strain.

Fitz ran to the door to snatch the nearest nurse. The sound of the doctor being paged to Harper's room suddenly filled the air. The nurse came in and advised Harper to try to relax as well, wasting as much energy as Olivia did because Harper seemed to be in a sudden panic.

Immediately, Fitz sprang into action.

Replacing Olivia on the bed, Fitz leaned over his daughter. Harper's eyes grew wide as saucers, and for a split second, Fitz wondered if she had heard his revelation only a few minutes ago to her mother.

"Harper, sweet heart listen to me. Calm down. Breathe for me. Breathe through your nose. Focus on my voice." Fitz talked to Harper in an even tone and eventually, she began to calm down. Staring into his eyes seemed to calm her considerably, and her own eye color began to morph back into place.

Fitz ran his fingers through her hair, and Harper wanted so badly to wrap her arms around her father. She wanted nothing more than to be held by him and protected from all the tubes and needles in the hospital. Not only that, but she wanted to feel safe in his arms, secure from all the inhumanities of the world. She was overwhelmed because at 13, Harper hadn't felt anything this quick and intense before.

The doctor entered the room a few moments later, talking Harper through the removal of the tube. Fitz stood by Olivia and witnessed the entire ordeal. Harper barked and coughed, trying to catch her breath. The nurse offered her ice chips, which she accepted, and once she accepted the fact that a needle was actually stationary in her hand providing her H20 and pain meds, she held the cup and began to shakily eat the ice. As the staff filed out of the room, the doctor advised Harper to take it easy for a while, especially since she had just been taken off the tube in her throat and he made her smile by telling her that he needed a few more billboard number 1's before he passed away.

Finally alone in the room, Fitz moved to one side of the bed while Olivia stayed on the other. Harper tried to adjust herself in bed, feeling herself become giddy as a 2 year old when Fitz fluffed her pillow for her. She wanted everything to happen at once. She was excitedly waiting them to share the news she hoped they had just recently learned, unable to comprehend why they would keep this from her for more than a few minutes. As she began to sift through the thoughts going through her head, she began to think bad ones too. She wondered if she hadn't gotten sick, would she have learned this information today. She also wondered how long both her parents knew this info, and how it would affect their lives and the lives of others around them. Her mind wondered to Fitz side of the family and how they would react-if they didn't already know about her. Her mind moved so quickly, she began to feel light headed. Light headedness turned to nausea.

As Fitz assisted her in scooting up in the bed, he and Olivia locked eyes. Olivia nodded her approval, and Fitz nodded right back. When he stood upright, Harper shocked the shit out of both of them by attempting to speak, but instead, smacking her hand to her mouth to keep from vomiting everywhere. Fitz again beat Olivia to the punch and grabbed a barf bag from the nearest table, carefully moving her hair safely away from her face and rubbed circles in her back as she emptied the contents of her pretty empty stomach.

The parents locked eyes again-this time, both shaking their heads "NO" at the same time and signaling that now was NOT the time to spring anything new on her. Neither knew that their secret was exactly what was making her sick.

Olivia convinced Harper to lie back on the bed and relax. Harper closed her eyes and heard a beep, followed by a sting on her hand and a burning sensation that went from her neck to her chest, to her stomach and bottom, to her legs and finally to her feet. Her eyes grew extremely heavy and before she could fix her mouth to get details on the news, she was out like a light.

/

Fitz, of course, wanted to stay by Harper's side. Olivia left to go and tell Abby that she could come visit Harper, and was told by one of the nurses on staff that it was ok momentarily that they all 3 be in the room since Harper and Fitz had such high profile statuses. As they walked back down the hall towards Harper's room, they talked.

"So, how's my girl?" Abby asked. Not much on the planet scared Abby, but thinking something might be wrong with her munchkin absolutely scared the living shit out of her.

Olivia knew this and decided to ease Abby's mind.

"She's fine. I pushed her morphine button before I left to come get you so she's out like a light."

Abby grinned, "I hope she doesn't have your reaction to pain meds. God knows you go a little left field when you get that mess in you."

Olivia stopped, horrified at the thought. "UGH! I forgot! I hope she's not filling Fitz ear with nonsense. Pain medicine doesn't work properly on me. Once my little 5 minute nap is over, I'm up and talking completely out of my mind."

Olivia's fears were fulfilled when she entered the room and Fitz was standing by Harper's bedside with a lopsided grin on his face. Olivia wondered what could have happened until she heard the horror. Harper was singing "Sugar" by Maroon 5 WAY out of key and range. As if she was wanting the entire hospital to hear her.

Abby froze in place, and Olivia did her best to stifle a giggle. Fitz was bent over in silent laughter, and Abby and Fitz exchanged places.

"How long has she been singing?" Olivia whispered to Fitz.

"About 2 minutes after you left, my phone rang. That's my ringtone for my family, and I tried to silence it, but as soon as she heard it, she TRIED to sing along." Fitz semi-whispered back to Olivia. He wanted to so badly to add that he hoped this was only temporary and that she COULD still sing.

Olivia smiled to herself, marveling at how her daughter hadn't changed since being a toddler. Anything with music could still set her off, even involuntarily.

"Enough, you two! My God." Abby scolded the other adults. "Harp, ladybug, can you hear me?"

Harper opened one eye slowly, then another, revealing to Abby the signature Grant eyes. "Auntie-AAAA!" Harper exclaimed proudly.

Abby took a deep breath. "Yeah kiddo, they've got you on the good stuff right now. I'm right here. Relax honey and try to get some sleep." Abby wondered how much like Olivia she really was.

Harper was completely out of it. For some reason, she felt the need to open her heart to her Aunt Abby as if she hadn't before.

"Auntie A, guess what I heard?" Harper was focused solely on her aunt and apparently didn't even remember the other adults in the room.

"What's up, munchkin?" Abby rolled he eyes, knowing Harper couldn't have been more like Olivia under the influence if Olivia had literally spit her out of her mouth.

"SHHHH!" Harper put her finger to her lips, "It's a secret. I don't think I'm sposed to know yet…"  
Olivia and Fitz both perked up at hearing this bit of information. Harper continued.

"I have a DAD!" Harper exclaimed proudly.

Abby's face matched her red hair, Fitz bottom jaw hit the floor, and Olivia swore her knees were about to buckle.

"Say what, Harp?" Abby tried to play along, wondering how the hell Harper had found out. She cut her eyes to Olivia, and Olivia shrugged her shoulders and shook her head at the same time.

Abby began to think fast and decided the truth was going to be the light today. She knew if Harper exhibited these same traits as Olivia drugged up, she was probably going to be brutally honest like drugged-Olivia was too. She smirked and played along.

"I do! It's true! Daddy told Mommy that he wasn't gonna let anything else happen to his little girl," Harper's eyes began to gloss over.

_Maybe she's not like her mother in this way. There's no way Olivia and Fitz were dumb enough to have this conversation while this girl was still unconscious, _Abby thought as she cut her eyes at Olivia for the second time in five minutes.

As if Olivia could read Abby's mind, she nodded her head. Abby tried to mask her shock and patted Harper's hand, signaling her to continue.

Harper began to recite the conversation word for word she heard before she opened her eyes earlier. Abby looked back and forth from child to parents, trying to gauge their reactions to this. Fitz had a serious look on his face, and Olivia looked as if she was praying to the Gods above that Harper wasn't upset.

"Auntie A, DO YOU HEAR ME? I HAVE A DAD! FITZ IS MY DAD!" Harper yelled. She began to cough as if her body was signaling to calm down. Fitz made a move to run to her side, but Olivia grabbed his forearm, silently telling him not to interrupt.

"I hear you. What do you think about that?" Abby asked. She secretly had her fingers crossed, hoping this was a good thing.

"Well, honestly, I have mixed feelings." Harper stated.

Fitz felt like his stomach had hit the floor with his jaw.

"Like?" Abby prodded.

"Well, on the one hand, my mom and Fitz have some serious chemistry. Like MAJOR chemistry. Like I look at them and mom has that same goofy smile on her face that nick had on his when he kissed me. Remember when I asked you about that?" Harper was spilling the beans and Olivia' eyes shot daggers into Abby's red head. Abby ignored Olivia's gaze, praying that Harper would get to the point.

Abby nodded.

Fitz stood by with the same expression on his face.

"I love that my mom is happy. I love how Fitz makes me feel. I just always want him to be, like super proud of me, ya know? I want him to approve of everything. I love his input, and how safe he makes me feel when he's around. Not that the bodyguards don't do that either, but the house isn't just a bunch of nice bricks and stone put together when he's around. It feels like an actual home. I want him to be my dad and I couldn't be happier." Harper was now beginning to tear up.

"But?" Abby asked. She grabbed Harper's hand as she spoke.

"But, what will this do to him? He is like every one of my friend's celebrity crush-which is disgusting now that I think about it- but how will they feel when they know he had a kid? What about other women around the globe who love him? What about the press? When they find this out, he won't have a resting day in sight, Auntie A! Not to mention mom. She's going to be known as the woman that FTG3 screwed and got pregnant out of wedlock and 'oh, hey, by the way, she can SING!?' I know that's not true. Not from the way Fi-I mean my dad looks at her. He loves her. This is gonna bring so much headache to everyone involved and I don't want everyone hurt because of me." Harper's tears began to cascade down her beautiful face and Fitz knew he couldn't hold it in much longer.

Abby winked her eye at both parents and spoke to Harper, "Well, you can always act like you didn't hear it and go on with your life as if you never learned that info."

Harper jerked her head as if Abby had smacked her.

"Are you nuts? He's my dad! I've wanted a dad since….we since I've been here. I don't give a damn WHAT other think. I just need a way to protect them from getting hurt. Do you know how bad it's gonna suck to lose him and I only just got him?" Harper wiped her nose with her IV attached hand.

"Harp, I only recently found out myself about you, ya know? I understand why it was kept from me, and I promise as long as you will have me, that I am NOT going anywhere." Fitz was now crying. Truth be told, there wasn't a dry eye in the room.

Olivia chimed in, "Harp, I didn't tell anyone because I was trying to protect you and Fitz"

Harper was crying harder now, and Abby leaned over and kissed her niece on her forehead before stepping closer to the door.

As if another light bulb went off in her head, Harper's eyes shot over to her parents. Fitz was walking toward his daughter and Olivia eased to the foot of the bed. Fitz knelt down to be beside Harper.

Harper felt like the drugs in her system all of a sudden were dormant and she was now seeing clearly. She was staring into eyes that matched hers and she now understood why. She snuck a glance at her mother and saw tears streaming down her face as well.

Harper knew there was SO MUCH that needed to be talked about, but at that very moment, hearing her FATHER tell her that he had found her and was NOT letting go of her proved to be too much for her to bare and she opened her emotional flood gates, sobbing into her hands. Her cries were of pure happiness and some fear of the future.

Without thinking, Fitz shed his coat and shoes and slid into the bed with his daughter. He wrapped his hand around her back and pulled her slightly into his chest, where she finally nestled in comfortably and began to sob even harder. Fitz rubbed circles into Harper's back, whispering that he was here and it was ok to cry. He told her how much he loved her over and over again, and Harper began to cling to his shirt for dear life as she cried.

Olivia choked on her own tears, finally able to see father and daughter interact as actual father and daughter, and Abby knew she had to get out of this room since this crying seemed to be contagious.

Abby excused herself and Olivia though it was best to leave the father and daughter in some privacy for a moment. She moved to follow Abby, but Fitz cleared his throat, getting her attention. He gave her a knowing look, and she hugged Abby and closed the door behind her. She walked over to the bed, pulling a chair up to the other side of her daughter. Fitz held out the hand that was not holding Harper tightly and Olivia took it. She leaned over onto the bed and rested her head until Harper insisted she join them in bed. Together, Fitz and Olivia consoled their crying daughter, wondering where they went from here. Harper knew the truth. The hardest part was out of the way…..

_Right?_

**AN: Gotta end it here! I love reading all your reviews. I have to give the same rant on this page as I did on my last update of TFTH. Ready? I promise to make it quick: **

**What I write is what I WRITE. If you don't like it or don't agree with it, please do us both a favor and find yourself another FICTION story to read. I write what I feel and some days are better than others. I can take constructive criticism, but when you messages become more than something I wouldn't say to someone in a public setting (yeah, I can be outspoken), we have a serious problem. **

**If you don't like my writing or my story, there is a link that will undo the clicks that brought you in here! **

**With that being said, feel free to review and comment. Your reviews are my fuel to keep going! So, Harper knows! Will she remember everything when the haze clears? She kissed Nick!? SAY WHAAAT? Interesting….and ABBY knew…SMH. **

**Will things get easier from here on out? I sure hope so….**

**Will update soon! **

**XOXO**


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: DON'T HATE ME! I have had SOOO much going on and as much as I wanted to update these stories, I honestly didn't have time. I hope you guys still love me! **

**Without further ado, here's the latest update! **

**Happy Reading!**

**XOXO**

**TBS **

**CH 9**

Harper opened her eyes as quickly as she could and she saw complete darkness. She tried to remain calm as she attempted to adjust her vision to her surroundings.

_I can still smell him._

_I smell her too…._

_Would they leave me here alone?_

Nervous to have been left all by her lonesome, she rubbed her hand across the hospital bed railing to find the light switch and silently prayed the previous evening hadn't been some sort of a sick dream.

The dim light filled the spacious hospital room and cast a glow around the major features of the room. Harper immediately found what she was looking for and a small smile graced her face.

On the couch adjacent to the bed she saw what made her heart leap. She saw Fitz and Olivia sound asleep on the couch. Fitz had his legs splayed out in front of him and the cap he likely used as a disguise was perched down over his face. She could hear the rumble of his snores. Olivia was cuddled up next to him as best she could, her face buried in his neck and his arm securely fastened around her.

_They didn't leave me. _

Harper smiled to herself. She woke up from a pee dream, her body's own personal prank and way of letting her know to relieve herself. She almost became teary-eyed at the sight of both her parents together so peaceful and didn't want to disturb them.

She pushed the covers down to her ankles, trying to make some sense of the unfashionable hospital gown that was now bunched around her thighs. She attempted to swing her legs over the side as she would any other night, and that's when it hit her.

The pain.

Harper caught her own moan of pain as she covered her mouth, trying her best to NOT disturb the slumbering adults near her. She tried to sit up, wincing in pain as she balanced her body on the edge of the bed and ran her hand alongside her lower left back.

_Ok, so maybe this wasn't a good idea, _she thought to herself.

Harper was determined to stand on her own, needing to feel some sort of independence from this hospital stay. She appreciated everyone helping her and making sure she was ok, but she was headstrong by nature and needed to reassure herself that she was still ok. She let her feet dangle over the edge of the bed, and just as she motioned to courage to let them touch the floor and push herself up, a manly sleep-filled voice startled her, causing her to almost hit the floor.

"Harp, NO!" Fitz yelled. He didn't mean to yell and Olivia basically fell to the floor as he surged his body forward to catch his frail daughter. Fitz' arms were under her body within seconds, scooping her up easily but gracefully. He froze at the sight of her wincing in his arms, wanting to smack himself for causing her anymore pain.

"Harp?" Olivia was by his side in seconds.

"I'm fine….ouch," Harper said unconvincingly.

"Where are you trying to go, munchkin?" Olivia asked as she stroked her daughter's head. Fitz seemed to be playing a game of quiet mouse still mouse as he was frozen in place, afraid to hurt her.

"I was going to the bathroom, but the incredible hulk here-" Harper started annoyingly.

"Saved your butt from a pretty bad fall and an extended hospital stay." Fitz finished for her. "Why didn't you wake one of us?"

"Because I wanted to try it on my own. I need to-" Harper tried again but Fitz took control of her sentence yet again.

"You need to be careful." The bass in his voice was laced with concern and genuine respect. He gazed at his daughter and had to remind himself that she was probably a lot like her mother-independent to the point of almost self-destruction.

Asif on cue, Olivia spoke up. "Fitz, she needs to use the-"

"I heard. I remember. I'll take her."

Harper's eyes widened at this statement and Olivia's weren't too far behind. Fitz went to take a step and Olivia tried to grab his forearm, but he was in the bathroom and standing in front of the toilet before she could gather her balance.

"NO! MOM, PLEASE!" Harper cried.

Fitz face fell with disappointment. He knew deep down she wasn't used to him and he wasn't going to invade her privacy, but the sound of her being uneasy with him threatened to break him at that point. He stood frozen yet again and watched as Olivia strutted into the bathroom.

Immediately, she noticed the sadness of his face and decided to reassure him.

"Fitz," She whispered. "Fitz, it's not personal. It's her…um…well, it's her…She's coloring with a red crayon this week."

Fitz felt like the dumbest person on the planet as he stared at the beautiful woman before him. She looked wonderful even as her hair was all over her head and no makeup dawned her face.

"Excuse m- OOOOHHHHH." Fitz felt his face flush and as he eased Harper down to stand in front of her mother. He made sure she had her balance and shoved his hands in his pockets as he made haste leaving the bathroom and closing the door. Once they were alone, Harper and Olivia shared a giggle.

/

Harper was made to stay in the hospital for a few more days. Her body was still in recovery mode and they didn't want to push her progress. She, on the other hand, couldn't wait to get out of the room.

Nick called and asked for permission to stop by. This caused Olivia's mind to run back to what Harper said while under the influence of Morphine about….

"Harper….you've had your first kiss?" Olivia couldn't hide her sadness at the fact that her daughter was growing up.

"Hunh?" Harper tried to play dumb. Olivia wasn't having it.

"Harper, I just wanna make sure you are being-CAREFUL." Olivia stressed the word careful and Harper's face turned 5 shades of red.

"MOM! NO! We have had this talk already, remember?" Harper cut a sideways glance at Fitz who was in the corner with his back turned on the phone. She prayed her mother wouldn't put her through this yet again.

"I'm just saying. Thirteen isn't grown, young lady, and when the time is right-"Harper cut her mother off.

"Of course, I'll come running to you like I'm in a marathon. Got it, Ma." Harper was relieved that Fitz was now off the phone. It looked like the conversation was over.

For now.

/

He had been worried for days. Ever since he found out that something was wrong with Harper, he couldn't do much of anything anymore. He couldn't focus during rehearsals, he couldn't function right in the studio, and all the people near and around him knew this meant only ONE thing: Nick Johnson was in love.

This of course was the first time and hard for him to decipher his feelings. He didn't think he would ever care that much about a girl. True, he had girlfriends before and even made it so far as to make out with them, but he definitely didn't consider himself as experienced as his music might suggest. He didn't think love would hit him at the tender age of 16…

And then he met Harper.

Everything had fallen into place in his life since he first met her. He didn't care that everyone had jokes and thought he was a pussy. He didn't care that people made fun of him for ALWAYS being on his phone talking and texting her. He DAMN sure didn't care that they were upset with him now for blowing off rehearsals to go see her, but he had finally worked up enough courage to ask her formidable mother to visit.

"Nick, SERIOUSLY? Dude, we have a show soon. She will still be there when you get back," His manager had told him.

"No. I gotta do this. I can't- I just need to see her. I need to make sure she's ok." Nick had argued back.

Now, Nick found himself sitting the Harper's hospital room along with her mother and FTG3. He was dressed casually in jeans and a green button down shirt. Nick couldn't help but wonder why Fitzgerald Grant was here, and shooting daggers at him at that, but he knew it wasn't his place to ask questions. Instead, he spent all his energy focusing on the love of his life and making sure she was ok.

"Do you need anything?" Nick asked Harper.

She blushed, "No. I'm fine. Thank you. Oh, and thanks for the lilies. I love lilies." Harper smiled back.

Fitz watched the exchange between the teenagers and felt the beginning of a headache forming. He pinched the bridge of his nose, the only thing stopping him from removing this little snot head kid from his daughter's room was Olivia's hand on his knee.

"Fitz, they are kids. Relax. Harper will shock you. She had a very special way about her and how she handles things. If you look closely, you might recognize her style." Olivia whispered only loud enough for Fitz to hear. He groaned in response to this.

Nick insisted on staying and buying Harper dinner. With her parents gone downstairs to the cafeteria to eat and give them a little privacy (much to Fitz' disliking), Harper and Nick finally got a chance to catch up. Nick sat on the bed beside Harper and held her hand. This was the closest he had been to her since their first kiss about a week ago.

When Fitz appeared in the doorway of Harper's room, he found Nick bent over Harper. He knew deep down it was irrational to be this upset so quickly and he knew that logically speaking, she was a teenager. He knew ALL these things, yet he still felt propelled to act like a lunatic about his baby girl. He cleared his throat, effectively ending the moment the teens shared and Nick took his cue to exit. He hugged Olivia and shook Fitz' hand before making a hasty exit.

"Really?" Harper was aggravated.

"Really. What was he doing so close to you? Counting nose hairs!?" Fitz could feel his temper rising, but decided it might not be best to push his territory with Harper.

Harper took a deep breath and slumped down in her bed. She looked like she felt-defeated. She didn't want to lose her father before things got started good, and she also didn't want another adult breathing down her neck all the time.

As she began to run these thoughts thru her head, Olivia spoke up.

"Harper, baby, do you hear me?"

"Hunh? Sorry, Mom. What was that?"

"I asked about you and Nick. Did you enjoy your time together?"

Harper took a deep breath. What her parents didn't know was that when they came in, Nick was trying to calm her down and she wouldn't, he had kissed her. A little differently than before, but it was still a kiss and it worked.

"We did. Especially when he informed me of the mob downstairs that won't leave. He even mentioned that speculation is growing of why you refuse to leave.

Fitz and Olivia locked eyes.

"Quit! Quit doing that! What is going on?" Harper asked.

She prayed she could handle whatever that threw at her.

**AN: SO, we get a little more info on Nick. Such a sweetie! Harper's attitude may be associated with her body pain, but she is NO PUSHOVER. **

**Review and as always, Happy reading! **

**I made this chapter shorter as a filler chapter to let you guys know I haven't forgotten about TFTH or this story. More to come!**

**Any Ideas? You will have to wait and see how it all plays out. Nick is such a cutie! So sweet…**


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: Ok, so I have been off the radar for quite a while now…SORRY! Life happened and a lot of things changed in my life in an instant….I'm ok, just a lot of adjusting to do. **

**FYI: I have a bit of writer's block on TFTH but I hoping my mojo comes back soon since I finally have time to sit and write tonight. **

**Without further ado…**

**Happy Reading! **

**XOXO**

TBS

CH 10

Olivia took a seat beside Harper, pulling at imaginary lint on her sweater. Fitz shuffled his feet and finally took a seat in the chair beside Harper's bed.

"I don't want any more secrets. PLEASE… I just want the truth. Please tell me what's going on-in fact, since I have nothing but TIME on my hands, how about you touch on you guys' previous relationship too. Being as though I have a right to know since I am a PRODUCT of it." Harper's tone was condescending, but she didn't mean for it to be. Her eyes were at the brink of tears and her ears were beet red, which was a signature Grant signal for 'I'M PISSED."

Olivia lifted her head ready to put Harper back in her place as a child, but when she locked eyes with the teenager, she felt nothing but guilt.

Fitz took a deep breath and sat straight up with his hands in fists under his chin and elbows on his knees.

Olivia took a deep breath and began….

_Flashback_

_14 Years ago…_

_Olivia stood at the counter in her bathroom. She felt like she was going to vomit as she stared at all five of the positive pregnancy tests in front of her. She felt hot tears spill from her eyes and her hands absent-mindedly made their way to her stomach. _

_She thought back to the last time she had saw him. Smelled him. Tasted him. FELT him. She missed him so much in the last few weeks and now she could understand why. She was never the type to get attached to a man, but this one had made her fall. HARD. Putting up her defenses wasn't a hard thing to do back then, so breaking up with him wasn't as bad as she thought it would have been. _

_Craving him was a totally different story. _

_Olivia grabbed her cell phone as she slid down the wall in front of her toilet. She called the one person she knew would help her think straight. _

"_Liv…What's up?" Abby asked. _

_Silence._

"_Olivia?" _

_Olivia felt her throat tighten as she began to try to form a sentence. She heard shuffling of covers and keys, and a door slamming before she heard another door open. She was never more thankful that Abby lived across the hall than she was today. _

_Abby kept the phone at her ear as she searched all rooms for Olivia. When she passed the bathroom, she backed up slowly and turned to face her best friend. _

"_Hunny?" Abby asked as she hung up her phone and sat it on the counter without looking down. _

_Olivia looked into Abby's eyes and began to sob uncontrollably. Abby took this as her cue to hug her friend and she held onto her until the cries stopped wracking her body. When Olivia tried to stand, Abby stood straight up and gave Olivia her hand to use as leverage. THAT'S when she saw the tests. _

_FUCK, Abby thought. _

_As if Olivia could read Abby's mind, she said, "Abby…what am I gonna do?"_

_Abby snatched her head around and gazed at Olivia. "What do you THINK? You need to call him!" _

_Olivia felt her heart break all over again as she replayed his final words to her. _

'_I just-I need to be alone. I'm not good for you. You obviously don't believe me when I say I'm not with any other women and that's fine. My reputation precedes me….but please believe me when I say I love you. More than life itself, Livvie…'_

"_I can't. I can't be with a man who doesn't love me. You've seen the news! He stays in the arms of another woman. I don't want my child to be mixed up in some crazy harsh celebrity world around God know what woman because he couldn't keep it in his pants! What if we DON'T work? Then I'll have some ill-mannered thirsty groupie playing step mom? Abby, you know me better than that." _

"_LIV, LISTEN to yourself! If you didn't see him do anything wrong, why don't you believe him?" Abby was confused. _

"_Because just the week before during an argument, he showed me a HICKEY! I DAMN sure didn't put it on his neck and he was drunk when he showed it to me….as if it was a badge of pride or some shit! I don't want anything to do with that lifestyle. I don't wanna be stuck at home while he's out in the street singing to every female that smiles at him while I'm singing my 'shoulda, coulda, wouldas.'_

"_Liv,-"_

"_Abby, PLEASE. Please support me on this? I have to protect this child. God knows it didn't ask to be made, but it's coming and I'm KEEPING IT." _

Present

Harper sat shocked. She looked back and forth between her mother and who she was beginning to know more as her father.

"SO, you didn't tell him because you wanted to-"

"Protect you." Olivia finished.

"And, you swore you were in love with mom and wouldn't cheat, but-"

"I honestly don't remember much of that being as though I was drunk, but I guess I did." Fitz finished for her.

"And NEITHER of you thought of what this might do to the CHILD in the end?" Harper tried to remain calm. She was growing more and more upset, but she knew she had no business yelling at her mother.

"Harper, I know I made mistakes. I don't require my teenage daughter to point them out to me." Olivia started, "But I am trying to fix what I did. I wanted to fix it from the moment I laid eyes on you, but I didn't want you to be known as FTGIII's outside child. I couldn't subject you to that."

Harper grew quiet. She nodded her head and picked at an imaginary hangnail on her fingers.

Olivia stood, smoothed out her jeans, and cleared her throat.

"Harp, we can and WILL elaborate more on this very soon. Right now, we need to ask you something."

Olivia stood to go around to Fitz and placed her hand on his shoulders.

"The way I-WE see it, there's no way to put the flames out now. We need to come out and be as truthful as we possibly can. If we tell the truth they have nothing to hold over our heads or dangle in front of us."

Harper nodded yet again. Fitz noticed her calm demeanor and stored that away for later.

"Is this something you can handle, Harp?"

Harper looked at her mother, then into the matching set of eyes that looked like hers .

"Harper, listen. I know I made mistakes in this too. I am NOT innocent. Not by a LONG shot. I want you to know- both of you- that I love you both very much. I never stopped loving your mother and I loved you since I realized you were mine…Hell, even before that. I am NOT going anywhere, but I agree with your mother. The way to keep the craziness in check is to come clean."

Harper weighed her options. She was stunned that they wanted her input on whether or not to release the information that Fitz was in fact her father, but respected and understood their reasoning since it DID directly affect her.

Olivia sat back beside her daughter and grabbed her hand. Fitz took the other and the family of three sat quietly as Harper decided what to do. At only 13, she was mature way beyond her years and had the analytical skill set of her mother.

After about 3 minutes of silence, Harper finally spoke so quietly, both her parents had to lean in to understand…

"Do what you have to do."

**AN: Yeah…IDK how I feel about this chapter. TFTH is rough right now and this one is getting better. On the flip side, check out Take My breath Away….(yeah I started a new one…lol) and let me know what you think! Until next time….**

**Happy reading! **

**XOXO**


	11. Chapter 11

AN: I know, I know….don't hate me! Life happens. I wish I had about 6 extra hours in a day….DON'T WE ALL?

PS: I OWN NOTHING! THESE CHARACTERS BELONG TO SR….DEF NOT ME!

TBS

CH 11

"ALL CYLINDERS, PEOPLE!" Olivia commanded as she took a seat at the head of the table in her home office.

Since being released from the hospital, Harper had become the sole focus of Olivia's team and their energy. Spinning the story of how Fitz and Olivia met and conceived Harper had become the forefront of all the cases being worked. The staff wasted no time when they got the infamous text message from Olivia.

'11/10/2002'

Harper's birthday digits. To the staff of OPA and anyone considered family of Harper Pope, this was like a bat signal saying something was up.

As her team sat in front of her spouting off information and ideas on how to make this work, Olivia sat back; the wheels in her head were spinning out of control.

Huck, the computer genius, was in charge of working the perception from the social media standpoint. Abby, affectionately known to Harper as Auntie A, was in charge of running anonymous polls, making sure the general public was ok with everything happening. Harrison was using his motor mouth skills to WOO the press and in so many words corner them into reporting EXACTLY what he wanted.

As the meeting finished, Olivia excused herself to go check on Harper. Harper had made it her business to stay out of the way. She had been told by her mother that today was the day everything would come to light and a press conference was the way they were going to handle this. Still a bit weak from the surgery, Harper elected to take her time getting dressed; which also came in as a good excuse to NOT sit in on the meeting on how to capture her audience.

"Knock, knock…" Olivia said as she lightly tapped on Harper's bedroom door. She didn't want to startle her daughter, afraid she would cause her pain if she tightened up any muscles.

"It's open, Mom." Harper said. As Olivia entered, she overheard Harper ending her phone call with Nick. Olivia kept her remarks to herself regarding Harper's budding romance. MOST of the time anyway.

"You didn't have to end the call because of me," Olivia told her.

"It's fine. Nick and I were just going over ways to make Fi- I mean my dad like him more." Olivia's ears perked at the use of the 'D' word as Harper had treaded lightly in using it lately.

"What did you come up with?"

"So far we've got nothing much, but any plans we make will be ran by you first." Harper flashed the GRANT smile and Olivia couldn't help but smile back.

"Where'd everyone go?" Harper asked as she took a seat on her bed. Olivia followed suit, sitting indian-style on her daughter's bed to talk to her.

"Well, it's show time. They are gone to do what they do best. Harrison is going to meet his informant now to leak the info and Abby is going to put the finishing touches on the press conference."

Harper sighed. Olivia could read her daughter so well.

"What is it, baby?" She asked as she tucked a wild piece of Harper's now frizzy mane behind her ears. Harper's hair generally took the shape of a Caucasian woman, and frizz was just a part of her life. Period.

"I just…I want everything to be ok. Who cares who you slept with? Who Fitz slept with? Who my dad is? It's NONE of their business. I hate everyone is having to go through all these changes for me." The hurt in Harper's voice was evident.

"Baby, come here." Harper lay her head on her mother's thigh as Olivia stroked her daughter's hair, gently raking her nails over her scalp.

"Baby girl, I know this is a lot. We talked about this so much in the hospital, I thought I would be blue in the face by now. It could get ugly, pumpkin, but the important thing is for you to keep the same mentality you have now throughout the entire ordeal. People are going to say some mean things and there's not much we can do. We will get through this. I promise."

Harper was sniffling lightly now, a sign to Olivia that she was indeed shedding a few tears.

"Somewhere in another time, Fitz and you…you guys stayed together. I was born into two loving parents who never left my side for anything. You are a teacher, he is a business man, and you have me and 2 other kids….we have normal life. We don't go to award shows, movie premieres, or interviews. We go to backyard barbeques, chaperoned first dates and play dates, and skating rinks. Everything is….is…" Harper's voice began to fade off…

"Normal. Everything is normal, Harp." Fitz' deep voice filled the room all of a sudden. Neither Harper nor Olivia had heard the door open and Harper secretly wondered how much he had heard.

Harper sat upright as Fitz raised his eyebrows, silently asking for entrance to her bedroom. Once she nodded, he came in and stood over Olivia, rubbing circles in her shoulders.

In a whispered tone, Harper said, "Well, normal is a bit overrated anyways."

Fitz took a seat at Harp's computer desk and turned to face the two most important women in his life right now as he answered the unasked question in the room.

"Abby let me in. I was about to knock, but she opened the door to leave and-"

"It's alright. No need to explain." Olivia smiled at him. Fitz felt his heart constrict.

"Hey, I have a question for you." Fitz was not talking to Harper, and of course, she gave him her undivided attention.

"My family….I already told them. They are ecstatic and want to meet you. You have a lot of cousins that are fans and are dying to meet you. BOTH of you," Fitz finished as he grabbed Olivia's hand.

"I was thinking of taking you guys up to see them soon. Do you think this will be alright?" Fitz asked timidly. Harper looked into his eyes and smirked, loving the way he tip toed around her and her feelings. TO say she didn't need him to was definitely an understatement.

Harper shifted her gaze to her mother, silently asking her opinion on the topic. As she was about to respond, her IPhone EXPLODED with alerts. She bucked her eyes at the ever vibrating device, looking back at her parents as she recognized twitter alerts and facebook alerts going haywire.

"Well, well, well, I think the cat is out of the bag." Fitz joked.

Olivia stayed silent as Harper picked up the unrested phone and began to scroll through the feeds.

officialharppope OMG! Your dad is FTG3? LUCKY U!

Officialharppope Glad you are feeling better! You won the genetic lottery! Who knew? FTG3, you are STILL Fine as hell to me…daddy or not! (Harper blushed a bit, slightly embarrassed reading that one)

Officialharppope so, THIS is how you got famous hunh? Wish my mom had screwed and got a star kid too. (This one made Harper slightly flinch, but she showed no sign of any emotion as she read on.)

Officalharppope, don't worry about what people say! You are amazing and now we know where your natural talents came from. Beautiful family!

Harper noticed attached to the last tweet was a photo shopped picture of herself and her mother, and someone had added Fitz to the picture, making it look ALMOST believable.

She turned her phone around and Fitz eyes grew wider.

"Uncle Harrison. WOW" Harper smiled.

/

Fitz and Olivia excused themselves from Harper's room as she read over some of what social media had to say. She didn't think she was ready for real media as of yet, and she wanted to see what people were saying first online. Walking toward her bedroom, Fitz and Olivia stayed quiet. Fitz knew he needed to break the silence.

"Livvie, it's-"

"I'm fine."

"Liv, sweetheart,-"

"I'm fine."

"I'M NOT." Fitz bellowed louder than he cared to. He knew she was probably blaming herself for the entire ordeal even being an issue and while some of the blame was on her, A LOT was on him and his character back then too.

Olivia met his eyes as he said this, tears threatening to fall on her face immediately.

"How are you, really?"  
"I'M FINE." Olivia said forcefully.

"Your name and Harper's is a headline. I doubt you are just fine."

"Fitz, can we not. Let's just-"

Olivia let her voice trail off as she finished getting ready for the press conference soon. Fitz knew to give Olivia her space so her exited her bedroom and went to wait in the foyer of the home, replaying his game plan in his head.

/

During the car ride over to the discreet location of the press conference, Olivia and Fitz didn't say much at all to each other. It wasn't an awkward silence, but the two looked very deep in thought.

Harper sat opposite her parents as she recited in her head what to say. As if she read her mind, Olivia spoke up.

"Oh, no, missy. You are to stay quiet. Visible, but quiet. Got it?" Olivia warned her daughter.

"Yeah, I got you." Harper agreed.

When the limo came to a stop, Harper's body guard got out of the vehicle, doing a quick sweep of the area. Finally taking notice to everyone outside, Harper smiled as she saw signs that read WE LOVE YOU, HARPER POPE-GRANT and HARPER IS MY ROLE MODEL.

She agreed to get out of the car and sign a few autographs. She was wearing a pair of bleached torn jeans and a Ramones T-shirt. Her hair was flowing freely down her back and she had on very light make up, a pair of gladiator shoes donning her feet. Once Olivia agreed, Harper shocked Fitz as she sat and waited for him to chime in on if she should go give a few autographs like she wanted to.

Fitz looked like he wanted to should hallelujah when he realized she was waiting on his response.

"Of course, you can go. I-WE will be right behind you." Fitz agreed. Harper shot him a quick smile and exited the vehicle. The crowd went absolutely wild as she waived, walking over to the man-made rails to shake a few hands, pose for a few selfies, and make a bit of fan small talk.

"Livvie, with everything that's been going on, I haven't had a chance to…well I…ACTUALLY, I was wondering if I could take you out. Ya know, like on a real date?" Olivia took the opportunity to smile at him, getting lost in his sea of blue eyes.

"I don't know, Fitz. I think we should focus on Harper." Olivia shot him down.

Fitz scooted closer to Olivia, pointing his index finger out the window.

"Looks like she's doing pretty great so far."

Olivia smiled at him over her shoulder and for a moment, she remembered how good it felt to have him touching and handling her body.

_Get it together, dammit!_

Fitz turned her head toward him, her smile from a few seconds ago was now almost gone. She licked her lips and listened to him.

"Oliva, Livvie…my Livvie. I know it's a lot going on at one time and I know this isn't the life you want right now. I also know that this isn't ideal for Harp right now, but with everything being out in the open, no one could hold anything against her."

"She's right, ya know." Olivia smiled to herself as she rested her body comfortably against him, leaning back for support.

"About what?"

"Some place, near, but not far, we have been together for quite some time now. We have kids, we are normal people. I wonder what that life is like," Olivia asked as she watched the fans squeal from a selfie from her daughter.

"Livvie, I will breathe my last breath before I let anything or anyone come between us. Say you will go out with me. You know you want to." Fitz said the last part in a very low whisper, drawing goosebumps to Olivia's arms.

"I do." She whispered, "But Harp comes first."

"She always will. I agree. She IS coming first. Now, when are you coming?"  
Olivia turned around to stare into his eyes and get lost again. She felt her resolve dissipating as he hit her with that DAMN Grant smile again.

"Ok." She agreed.

"Ok?" Fitz wanted her to clarify.

"Ok, I'll go with you. Of course, I will." Olivia smiled.

Fitz smiled as well, releasing a deep breathe. He wanted to badly to kiss her in that moment, but knowing how nervous she was, he opted to wait.

Olivia went to reach for the car door handle, and Fitz stopped her. She turned to look at him.

"One minute?"  
Olivia looked back towards Harper, who was slowly working her way down the line of fans that were lucky enough to get closer to her since her body guards were surrounding her.  
"One Minute." Olivia agreed, and with that, she moved to lay her head on Fitz' chest, wrapping her arms around his torso and breathing in his scent.

Both enjoyed the silence the limo brought.

Neither saw Harper being approached by Nurse Quinn from the hospital.

AN: Hey yall! I'm back…kinda….but thanks for sticking with this story! I know where it's gonna end and I'm already thinking of a sequel….maybe even a series! This has turned out to be a great story…

Today (06/05), my one and only princess turned 6! Between work, planning her FROZEN themed shindig, and still being a good fiancé, (LOL), I finally finished this chapter.

So….going public? I am excited to see how Fitz' family meeting goes. Olivia agreed to date Fitz, even though they are taking it slow, and I see fireworks igniting between them again….DO YOU?

Ideas? Review? PLEASE DO! I love reading them as they let me know you guys are still with me somewhere out there.

Happy Reading!  
XOXO


	12. Chapter 12

***I OWN NOTHING! I JUST LOVE #OLITZLOVE!

TBS

CH 12

Tom couldn't round the car fast enough to deflect Olivia's little body from barging through the crowd and over to her daughter. He caught up to Olivia just as she approached Harper and a sneaky looking Quinn and he effectively cut her off.

"WHAT IN FUCKS NAME-"Olivia began spouting venomously. Harper's eyes widened at the sound of her mother's angry voice. This wasn't a side of Liv that Harper had seen very often and it frightened her. She quickly put two and two together and realized the woman Liv was about to tear into was obviously trouble. She found herself scooting behind a more calm looking Tom.

"Uh, Ms. Pope, I can handle this. Believe me, I've got it." Tom stated. Olivia's skin was hot to the touch as Tom placed his hand on the small of her back in an attempt to calm her. A couple of fans nearby noticed the struggle, but thankfully, they didn't hear everything that was said. Harper, on the other hand, heard every single word.

"Get her the FUCK out of here. NOW." Olivia spat.

Quinn shocked everyone standing there when she finally spoke.

"My mission is complete." She stated as she stood stoically in front of a livid Olivia. Truth be told, Tom was beginning to lose his patience as well.

"Miss, I don't know what your objective is or was, but I am going to have to ask you to step AWAY." Tom strained the last of his statement and the look on Quinn's face didn't change, although Olivia could swear she thought she saw her flinch.

"Of course, I just wanted to say hello to my FAVORITE musician!" Quinn covered.

"Quinn. What are you-you know what? It DOESN'T MATTER. Get the hell out of here. NOW." Fitz voice boomed over everything else going on and everyone within the general area grew quiet and still, taking notice to the confrontation that was about to take place.

Quinn just nodded her head and found her way through the now silent crowd. Everyone's eyes followed Quinn, then turned back to Fitz and a now very embarrassed, but grateful, Harper.

Harper's face turned beet red. She was obviously no stranger to attention, but the speculating eyes were almost too much for her.

Fitz turned to his daughter. "We don't have to do this. You say the word Harp, and we are OUT of here."

Harper's color began to return as she looked into the eyes that effectively matched hers in color. She felt her nerves begin to ease and she took a deep breath before she spoke. Harper remembered seeing the lady SOMEWHERE, but she couldn't exactly make out where it was. She was now racking her brain trying to figure it out.

"I'm fine. It's fine. Whatever she wanted, she's gone."

Fitz, Harper, and Olivia all made their way to the podium set up. Fitz began to speak, bringing the chatter amongst the crown to a complete stop. When he spoke, some women whistled, clapped, and cheered quickly, but he stated that the statement would be short, sweet, and to the point. Harper's mind immediately went to other press conferences she had seen on TV from presidential standpoints and she let her mind begin to wander.

_I bet he would make an excellent POTUS,_ She thought as she watched his audience hang on his every word.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for coming out. I-WE would like to make a brief statement regarding personal information about our familial status. As I'm sure you have heard by now, Harper Pope is, indeed, my daughter. I recently learned of the information from her mother, whom I respect and adore as much now if not more as I did back then.

"As for speculation about how and when and details, let me be the first to inform you all that while I value and love each and every one of you as fans, our personal life is just that- OUR PERSONAL LIFE. With this being said, I will say that the negative things being said about Olivia and my relationship are absolutely not necessary and are very hurtful. Olivia kept this from me for very good reason, and as I'm sure some of you know by now, I didn't have the best reputation back then so I can understand why she did it. We are working through our differences and that is all I would like to say about that aspect of this situation.

"We are asking that you PLEASE respect our privacy in this matter and thank you for your time." Fitz finished up. In the limo, Fitz and Liv had agreed to take a few questions to completely seal the deal now that the truth was out. "

"Fitz! Will this new change effect your music and the nature of your songs?"

Fitz smiled before he answered. "Absolutely, but although she's not completely full grown, I highly doubt Harper still believes in the stork." The crowd shared a laugh over that along with Harper and Liv.

"Olivia! Over here! Do you regret not telling FTG3 about his kid?"

Olivia smiled, gliding up to the microphone. She turned to make eye contact with Fitz as she spoke. "Every day of my life. If I could go back and make this decision again, I would have chosen differently. But I also believe that everything happens for a reason."

"HARPER! HARPER! How do you feel? What kinda dad is Fitz? What kinda mom is Liv? Are you gonna make songs with your new daddy? HARPER! HARPER!" Questions began to fly toward Harper and she immediately grew overwhelmed. She reached over and grabbed Liv and Fitz by the hand as she listened to the questions being thrown. Both parents knew what this meant: Harper wanted to answer a question. The only question that stuck out to Harper was asked moments after both Fitz and Olivia gave her the OKAY look to approach the podium.

"Harper! What do you hope to gain from meeting you father?"

Harper stood still as the crown grew quiet once again, having heard this reporter and his question. She glanced around at the crowd as she thought of her answer and finally, she opened her mouth to speak. A smile crept across her face.

"I don't want anything I don't already have." She glanced back at her mother and father who both walked up and grabbed one of her hands.

Fitz stepped forward, ending the conference and all three began to make their way toward the limo.

"Harp, how do you feel, pumpkin?" Liv asked. She moved to sit next to Harper, grabbing her hand as she looked into her daughter's eyes. Fitz sat forward smiling at the women on the seat across from him as his heart swelled.

"Happy. I feel…happy." Harper smiled at her parents. She felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders and couldn't wait to move into times when this wasn't at the forefront of the news cycles.

/

SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!

The sound of a hand smacking against the maple wood desk startled Quinn out of her trance.

"You had ONE JOB. ONE!" The woman boomed at Quinn.

"I was there. I was about to get to her but some tall ass guy and her mom came out of nowhere. I didn't get to-"

"SHUT UP!" _Ugh…what do I have to do to get something done around here? _

"You are just about as incompetent as your little brother!" The woman gestured to the handsome teenager in the corner looking at her with a blank stare.

" I swear…I guess I'll have to handle this myself."

"For the record, I did plant some doubt in their heads before I left."

"At least you got THAT much right." The woman growled as she stormed out of the room on her heels.

AN: I am updating all my stories tonight (or at least trying) since I have a lot of time on my hands. My mother is in the hospital and I am by her side. Nothing major…but she has diverticulitis. (look it up…it sucks) and is flaring up on her now. So….with at least another 12 hours in this room and nothing to do but watch Netflix (BTW, I am JUST Now discovering Orange is the New Black! HOOKED!) I brought my computer with me to get a little writing done.

Thanks for those of you who are sticking with this story. I am still facing a bit of writer's block on how I want to take my story, but all the KIND reviews are gently nudging my mind to work.

SOOOO…any ideas? Wondering what the hell Quinn was doing? Wonder who the woman is and the teen? You MAY get it right, and the more reviews I get the more it will fuel my ideas…..How long will paradise last for our little family? **don't expect too much angst cause like I always say, we get enough of that madness on the show**

Happy Reading!

XOXO


	13. Chapter 13

**I know it's been forever….I'm just getting back in the right frame of mind to write this, but I want to wrap a few of my stories up before the end of august. **

**Happy Reading! **

**TBS **

**CH 13**

Nick pulled into the circular pathway of the Pope estate late that Monday evening. He had one idea in mind- he needed to check on his Harper. His love. NO matter what his step mother said to him, no matter how many threats she made against him and his livelihood, his mission had changed. He was no longer in the business of taking advantage of Harper.

When he was first introduced to the idea of befriending her for his stepmother's revenge, he didn't really care. Honestly he was kind of jealous of the early teen for accomplishing what he had only just now accomplished at age sixteen. She was already a Grammy award winner and more popular on and off social media than he and his buddies ever dreamed to be. When he first laid eyes on her at that after party, there was no going back from there. As he put his BMW in park, he began to relive that memory as if it were yesterday.

_FLASHBACK_

_It was almost midnight and the party was in full swing. Nick had somehow managed to get away from his manager and buddies long enough to go toward the drink section for the youth in attendance and grab himself a drink. _

_After several pats on the back and "Good job, maybe next year!" statement's later, he managed to make it to the bar. He wanted so badly not to be upset, but sadness had a way of creeping up on you when you least expected it. He wasn't a mean guy. He only wanted to please everyone, which was why when Mellie had informed him of her scheme, he immediately jumped on board. _

_Mellie and his now deceased father had fallen in love. If you ask Nick, he felt like Mellie had fallen for his father's account balance before she actually fell for him. _

_Nevertheless, Nick wanted to feel as if he belonged like her awful brunette daughter, Quinn, did and he did almost anything and everything he could to fit in. Needless to say, it was never enough. _

_Nick was in a daze until he felt a coolness on his hand. He glanced down at the table where his hand rested as he drank his punch and saw a much smaller perfectly manicured hand grabbing paper towels. His eyes followed the dainty fingers, admiring the smooth light mocha skin and finally landed on the most beautiful pair of cerulean blue eyes he had ever seen. _

"_I'm so sorry! This was totally my fault…" The voice chimed in. Nick barely noticed as he was frozen in space. _

"_Excuse me? Are I'm sor-" The brown haired beauty seemed to stop talking as she finally locked her blues with his hunter greens. _

"_Uh- I'm Nick." Nick put on his best smile and he noticed how she blushed. _

_She's so beautiful….._

_God, I'm in trouble. _

PRESENT

Nick jumped out of his memory as something tapped on his driver side glass. He glanced up and into the very same pair of eyes he was dreaming about only minutes ago. He quickly gathered himself and stepped out of the car.

"Hey, Harp." Nick said as he extended his arms to hug her.

"Dang, did I scare you, Nick?" she smirked.

Nick smiled down at her and fully engulfed her for a hug. He was happy to see her, but the way he hugged her, Harper could tell something was off with him.

"Are you…are you alright?" She asked as she pulled back.

Nick smiled at her and kept her hand in his, kissing her knuckle and causing her cheeks to tint. The two teenagers seemed to be lost in their own world until an unnecessary cough interrupted their stay.

"Ms. Pope. It's nice to see you again."

Olivia made her way down the few steps and toward Nick. She was fuming. No way did this little boy decide he was going to show up at her house WITHOUT permission and everything be ok.

"I wish I could say the same, Nick, but it seems like I didn't have much of a heads up on this visit." Liv said through gritted teeth and a quick angry glance toward Harper. Harper looked like she was about to fall over from fear, but Nick quickly recovered.

"Ms. Pope, I know I should have called first and I'm-"

"Yeah, you should! You know I don't mind you visiting, son. Why on earth…" Nick cut her off.

"I needed to see you." Nick blurted out.

Liv stood there like a statue. She squinted her eyes as she studied his demeanor. He looked as if something was seriously bothering him. He shuffled his feet nervously and even though he made eye contact with her all the time, he barely could today. When he did meet her chocolate eyes, she could see fear flashing like lightening.

"Livvie?" Fitz appeared at the door.

Liv jumped a little bit at the sound of Fitz's voice. She looked over her shoulder and was met with exactly what she expected- Fitz in full daddy mode. She quickly turned back around to Nick and Harper, her gaze dropping to their hands intertwined. They caught the hint quickly and released each other's grip, and Liv's gaze now raised to Nick's eyes. She genuinely felt bad for the boy, but if something was wrong, she needed to find out ASAP.

"Nick, I can see something is wrong. Come on, let's go inside."

She ushered both teens inside, her hand resting on Nick's shoulder. As they passed Fitz, Nick nodded his head at Fitz and Harper kept her gaze down. Liv winked at Fitz and gently nudged her head in the direction of the house.

Fitz was a bit lost, but he decided to go along with it-at least they were not keeping him out of the loop. He closed the door and made haste behind his makeshift family, hoping to God that he wasn't about to have to commit a crime.

/

Fitz was worried. Olivia had begun pacing about 2 minutes after Nick began to spill his guts. Deep down Fitz wanted to be angry, but the fact that the kid had come forth with the truth was enough to calm him….

For now.

"So, let me make sure I'm understanding this right," Liv started. "Your job was to 'woo' my daughter, get to know her mechanisms and way of life, and then set her up to be kidnapped!?"

Nick just looked at Liv through sad hooded eyes as he barely raised his head up and down in a nod.

"Yes ma'am."

"Ok…and the reason for all of this is because your step mother, Molly, wanted to try to pocket some quick cash; however, once she realized who Harper was biologically, it became personal…right?" Liv said as her gaze then fell on Fitz.

"Yes ma'am."

"So, why now? Why are you telling the truth after all this time? How do I know this isn't another part of your little twisted plan?" Liv hissed.

Nick looked at Liv dead in the eyes as he began to speak.

"I stopped being a part of this from the moment I met her. Harper is…she's….everything. She's beautiful and smart and stubborn and she makes my heart dance for hours at a time and…I can't…I WON'T do anything to harm her. No matter who says to…Ms. Pope, I came to you because as irrational as it may be right now, I love Harper. I don't want anything to happen to her…" Nick finally stated.

Liv kept her stare emotionless. She had to push her mama bear instinct away when it came to her daughter because in her line of business she knew all too well the mistake of letting your heart make the important decisions.

Nick continued, "Look, I know I am basically signing my death warrant by coming here, but I would rather take the heat than anything happen to her." Liv noticed how Nick had yet to look Harper in the eye ever since he began his story, while Harper was completely silent and shooting daggers DIRECTLY through his head. She inwardly wondered how long it would take Harp to come unhinged.

"What exactly are you looking to gain from telling us this information?" Fitz boomed as he walked over to a now still standing Liv to comfort her.

Nick stood and moved directly in front of Harper's parents when he spoke.

"I have nothing to lose except Harper. To be honest, I don't think me saying I love her or care for and don't want to lose her will make much difference. With all due respect, I will continue to see Harper whether you want me to or not because we love each other. I treat her with nothing but the utmost respect. The only thing that can keep her from me is…well, her. I don't care about the trouble or consequences that I will face from this because as long as she is ok at the end of the day, I'm fine. I just want what's best for her."

Liv and Fitz both tried to hide the sadness in their eyes from his words. Both knew all too well how it felt to be without the one you love.

Liv moved to sit next to her daughter. She grabbed Harper's hand, which was now clammy, and stayed silent until she looked into her eyes. Fitz knew Harper's wheels were turning and he stood beside a now nervous wreck looking Nick.

Nick wanted to talk to Harper in private so badly, but he had never seen the look on her face that was there now and he was a bit scared.

"Harp, you asked to be treated as more of an adult. What do you want to do with this?"

**AN: Sorry for the delay! Let me know what you guys think of this….I might do a time jump sooner or later to move the story along, but I promise, this part was necessary in the plot. **

**Any Ideas? **

**Happy Reading! **

**XOXO**


	14. Chapter 14

**AN: still working to get back into this one. This was more of a filler chapter…nothing earth shaking…just trying my hand to see where this story is going. **

**Enjoy!**

**Happy Reading! **

**XOXO**

The driveway to Fitz's parent's home was long and beautiful. The woods seemed peaceful and the blanket of pure white snow made it look like something out of a magazine. It reminded Harper of the town her other grandparents were from.

_OTHER grandparents_….that thought alone was enough to shake her to her core. She was so elated to be meeting Fitz's family, but more than anything, she was nervous. Would they like her? Would they judge her mother or her? Would they be star struck and stare at her the entire trip? All these things swarmed at the forefront of her head and the entire time, the only person she wanted to hear from was suffering from her silent treatment.

Nick.

She couldn't bring herself to talk to him. True, he had revealed his stepmom's plan in an effort to save her, but Harper still got a bad feeling about it all. Why hadn't he told her before? What were they planning to do with her if they caught her? Could she really trust him? After all, he had stood flat foot in front of her parents and declared his love for her. She had to admit to herself that that was a balsy move….Fitz wasn't exactly a bundle of joy when it came to her and her safety.

"Do you think she's ok?" Fitz asked Liv for the tenth time in the last 12 hours.

Liv took a deep breath as she licked her lips and moved her gaze from the wilderness back to Fitz.

"I hope so. She seems like my punkin, but I know she misses him." Liv admitted sadly.

Fitz grabbed her hand, kissing her knuckles and resting it on the center console. Harper kept her gaze out the window, but she heard what they said. She wished she didn't feel as sad as she did, but there was really nothing she could do. She planned to have fun with this new side of her family and try to forget about Nick.

It was nearing the end of March the small family were now on their way to Northern New Hampshire to visit with her new set of Grandparents. Fitz had insisted on driving his own black Suburban, which afforded much room in the back for Harper to stretch out with her headphones in her ears and the many bags the ladies brought along to fit comfortably as well.

Harper sat up as the car eased to a halt. She took in the view from her window in the back and her breath caught in her throat. The home was magnificent. It had an older feel to it; the pillars on the porch gave it a real presidential feel, but the homey design on the outside, including the swing and yard furniture and the chimney puffing smoke out brought the comfy feel to her. She squinted as her eyes rested on the door, where an older couple stood with their hands clasped and smiles on their faces.

"Here we are." Fitz announced. He glanced back at Harper, watching her take in the scene before her. She quickly made eye contact with him and smiled.

"You grew up here? It's really beautiful." Harper admitted.

"I did…and thanks. Let's get you ladies all settled in. Everyone who isn't here already will start to arrive soon." Fitz said as he exited the truck. He walked to greet his parents, who walked out into the yard more and Harper smiled as she witness him spin his mother around and plant a kiss on her cheek and then clasp hands with his dad, hug him, and give him a kiss as well.

"Harper? Did you hear me?" Liv brought Harper out of her thoughts as she spoke and patted her knee.

"Hunh? Sorry, Ma. I didn't…what's up?"

"I said are you ready? Do you need a minute?"

Harper shook her head as Fitz turned back around and looked at her window. Even with the dark tint, she was certain he was looking directly at her and she felt at ease. Harper looked at her mother and smiled.

"No. I'm good. Let's go."

Harper exited the vehicle with her and the two held hands. The air felt great and crisp as she filled her lungs, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves. Harper tightened her grip on Liv's hand as Fitz escorted his mother back to the most important women in his life, his father following closely. Katherine Grant stood at about 5'7 with chocolate brown curls that matched Fitz's hair and porcelain skin. She didn't look a day over 40. Gerry Grant was about 6'3, general muscular build, and had salt and pepper hair, along with a pair of eyes that Harper couldn't help but get lost in.

"Livvie, this is my mom, Katherine and my dad, Gerry. Mom, Dad, this is Olivia." Fitz introduced her first.

Liv dropped Harper's hand and moved to shake the couple's hands. Harper felt her chest tighten when she saw the awful frown on Katherine's face.

"Oh, no, sweetheart, we don't shake hands in this family. We HUG. Now come on over here!" Katherine squealed as she hugged Liv tightly. Gerry then took his turn, hugging Liv and kissing her cheek, welcoming her to their home.

Fitz moved to stand next to Harper and pulled her into him by her shoulders, giving her a gentle squeeze and a kiss on top of her head. He felt her instantly relax a bit.

"And this is…"

"Harper." Katherine breathed barely above a whisper.

Harp plastered a smile on her face. She was inwardly shaking but in true Pope fashion, she hid it well. She removed herself from Fitz's embrace and walked a few steps to stand in front of Katherine. Katherine made a move to touch her cheek, but stopped a few inches short and looked into Harper's eyes for permission. When Harper nodded slightly, Katherine touched her granddaughter's face for the first time and tears began to swell in her eyes. Harper felt a familiar knot in her throat as well as the gravity of the situation started to hit her. Moving swiftly, Harp wrapped her slender arms around Katherine's neck and shed a tear on her shoulder as she inhaled lilacs and her grandmother's unique scent. Katherine wept silently. Gerry stood next to his wife, silently wiping tears as well as he witnessed the entire exchange. Liv and Fitz now stood off to the side holding hands. Harper pulled back and looked at her grandmother.

"Those eyes! My God child, you are DEFINITELY a Grant!" Katherine exclaimed, making everyone laugh.

"Hi, sweetheart." Gerry stated gently to her. He extended his arms to her and engulfed her in a bear hug. Harper took a deep breath, reveling in the smell of peppermint and pipe tobacco and that memory was now etched in her brain.

"It's so good to meet you. I-WE love you so very much." Gerry stated as he and Katherine joined in hugging Harper yet again.

After all the pleasantries were exchanged, Fitz moved to grab the bags from the car. Gerry insisted they come inside and greet everyone first, then worry about the bags.

Everyone walked back toward the house together. Liv stopped short as Harper and her grandparents made their way back up the stairs and through the front door.

"Liv?" Fitz questioned.

"Fitz…I..what if…I mean, this isn't about me….but what if…"

Fitz turned to look her in the eye and instantly knew what was wrong with her. He let his lips touch her forehead, nose, and then her lips gently, which seemed to shut her up quickly as her breath caught. Katherine and Gerry turned around to witness the entire ordeal, and Harper stood between them rolling her eyes in true teenager attitude, but inwardly excited. She had watched her parents tip toe around each other so much lately and she knew it was because of her.

It wasn't lost on either Liv or Fitz how long it had been since their lips had touched.

"They are going to love you…because I love you." Fitz stated simply as if he were telling her it was snow on the ground."

Liv was relaxed in his arms, and took a deep breath.

"Ok."

/

As soon as everyone came inside, they all took off their winter coats. Harper went to walk away, but Fitz caught her by the arm.

"take you shoes off, Harp."

"Hunh?"

"It's a crazy weird mental thing for my mom, but she will eat you alive if you don't." Fitz seemed like he was reliving some crazy childhood memory as he instructed her, and she couldn't help but laugh at him as she obeyed.

Once everyone was comfortable, they made their way through the house, stopping in certain rooms to greet whomever was there, and continued throughout the entire home. The family had decided to meet up to meet and greet Harper, but Fitz knew that this many people in his parent's home wasn't really strange.

After everyone had met most of the adults, Katherine excused herself and grabbed Harper's hand. She led her down a double set of stairs to a wooden sliding door.

"The children are in this room. I don't know how this will go, sweet girl. They might be in here playing grab ass already, but I figure you might have a bit more fun with them. You ready?" Katherine asked.

Harper took a deep breath and nodded.

Katherine slid the door open and all the chatter you could hear from the other side suddenly died down. Most of the kids in the home belonged to different family members as the Grants were a MASSIVE family. Katherine made her way in the room first.

"You guys ok down here?" she asked.

"Yeah, Nana. We are good." Jason spoke up. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Good. So, Nana's usually pretty good about coming through with her promises on a surprise, hunh?"

"Yes" they all chorused.

"Good. Here's one of them." She stated as she stepped back. The room was so quiet, you could hear lint falling to the carpet. Harper stood beside her grandmother and forced a confident smile on her face.

The ear piercing scream of a pair of 8 year old twins threatened to burst the windows.  
"OH MY GOSH, IT'S HARPER POPE!" the girls squealed loudly. All the other children in the room smiled and watched in awe.

Jess and Jazz were Fitz's cousin's kids. They were the second set of twins in the family. Mckinlee and Mckayla were the other, which were also twins. Jason was Jess and Jazz's older brother, and Katherine went around the room stating every kid's name in there. Once she was finally done, she came back to Harper.

"Harper is your cousin."

Most of the children already knew this; information spread on social media like wildfire. A few were still stunned and stared at her like she was a Marvin, the Martian.

Katherine stood still as she watched the miniature Grants finally begin to trickle over one by one to shake her hand, fangirl over her, or just give her a hug and welcome her to the family. Harper was so tied up with meeting everyone that she didn't hear her grandmother exit the room.

**AN: OK, so we are stopping here for today. Like I said in the first AN, this is just a filler to get back into this story. I'm sorry that I haven't updated it in a while, but it's the one that has fallen off my brain…**

**SO, how will this visit go? How long will it last? Who are the other family members we are waiting on? I will answer all these questions in the next installment. I plan on writing them in this family setting for a few more chapters, so get ready to meet all the Grant family has to offer….Crazy, silly, loving people….RIGHT? What do you guys think will happen? I'm open to suggestions…if they are constructive! LOL… We will hear more from Nick too…(yeah, that's not over yet either).**

**HAHA! **

**Happy Reading! **

**XOXO**


	15. Chapter 15

**AN: How about another update?! IT'S SCANDAL (WINTER FINALE) THURSDAY! I am going to try to update more since we are about to go on winter hiatus…I started this update during Grey's….probably will end it during HTGAWM! HAHA!**

**Happy Reading! **

**XOXO**

**TBS CH 15**

"The Grant offspring are a rambunctious clan, aren't they?" Liv asked as Fitz and she made their way upstairs. Katherine told Fitz which room they would be staying in and the two decided to get away from the noise for a minute.

"They are. You should have seen us when we were little. I guess they get it honest." Fitz smirked. The sounds of the kiddos 2 floors down was anything but quiet, but it blended in with all the other noise in the house. To her, Liv felt like Fitz was a bit distant. Liv could tell something was off with him, but she decided not to push him….at least not TOO much.

As they ascended the stairs, Liv was in awe. The home was beautiful and had more bedrooms than she cared to count, each one with its own bathroom. The entire home was an off white color, egg shell even. Everything was so shiny and well put together that she wondered how the Grants didn't get nervous when someone breathed hard.

She inwardly wondered if she and Fitz would be sharing a room until Katherine nipped that in the bud also, winking at Fitz and telling her that they indeed WERE sharing a room. Harper would have her choice of her own room or one with her cousins, depending on how the meeting went downstairs.

Liv decided as they came to a stop in front of what would be their room to test the waters a bit.

"Ya know, I know we aren't at a place where we can…I mean, it seems like maybe…" Liv stuttered.

Fitz faced her with a blank stare. He could tell she had something on her mind, but she was just so damn cute when she was at a loss for words…which was rare.

Liv sighed.

"You know if there's something bothering you, you can just tell me…right?" she asked.

SILENCE.

"I mean, I'm already nervous and I really just wanted to know if anyone has said anything or-"

Fitz cut her off by attaching his lips to hers, fusing her body between his and the door to their bedroom.

"Olivia Carolyn," Fitz stated firmly but calmly he maneuvered the door opened and pushed her in by the collar of her shirt.

"My family loves you, ok? There's nothing to be worried about in that department."

Liv felt a BUT coming on, but decided to wait it out a few minutes. She was sure it was going to come. As she nodded he head and got a look around, she realized where they were.

"Fitz, is this your-"

"Yep."

His room was everything she imagined it would have been for him growing up. The walls were a shade between navy and baby blue and there was a pin board in the corner with photos, ribbons, and newspaper clippings. She continued her 360 degree view until her eyes landed on his trophy case above his dresser/mirror combo. From where she was, Liv could make out trophies for MVP in almost every sport but the one that got her attention was a music trophy in the middle and front. She decided to tuck that little bit of info away for later and ask him about it.

"But…I do want to warn you and I should have warned Harper." Fitz said as he turned her to face him. He stared into her caramel orbs and could see doubt making its way back into them.

"About?" Liv asked in a breathy tone.

"My family, the ones who aren't here yet, tend to not filter much. If you hear something that offends you in any way, say something."

Liv couldn't help but giggle at him. His face remained stoic. She was moved by his concern and that alone made her want to kiss him again.

THAT'S when it hit her.

"Fitz, do you realize we kissed today?" She deadpanned.

"I do. I also realize the grass is green underneath the snow and the sky is a nice shade of blue and-"

"I'm serious!" Liv tried to keep a straight face, but it was proving to be hard.

"I am too, Livvie. I told you I wasn't going anywhere. I don't know if you needed a memo for me to show my affection towards you, but we did agree to try. Do I need to get permission before I kiss you again?" As Fitz was asking this, he was slowly making his way toward her.

"Hunh?"

Fitz smirked. "You heard me. Do I need to get your permission before I show you how much I adore you?"

Liv backed up until the back of her knees hit his California King Size bed.

"Do I need permission first?" His lips were centimeters from hers and she could smell the scotch on his breath. This was DEFINITELY the closest she had gotten to him this many times in YEARS and it was having the effect Fitz wanted it to.

"Well, I didn't say that." She whispered.

Fitz backed away ever so slightly and grabbed her hands, placing one on his bicep and one around his neck as he wrapped her up in his arms.

"You know what I love about this place? It tends to bring the magic out in people. I didn't used to believe it when I was a kid, but as I grew older, I realized it was true. I guess you can put it off on that or anything else you want, but hear me when I say I am NEVER GOING TO LOSE YOU AGAIN. I fucked up once, Livvie, but I won't again." Fitz spoke the last sentence in a breathy growl and Liv was mentally deciding if she needed to change her panties before they left this room again. As he leaned in closer to her, their noses touching, a familiar voice brought them out of their cocoon.

"Mom, Da- Oh, GOD! WAIT!" Harper froze dead in her tracks and covered her eyes. Fitz bit back a laugh as Liv tried to push away from him, but it did no good.

"Harper, when a door is closed, it's good manners to knock." Fitz stated calmly. Liv just kept her face hidden In his chest and covered by her hair cascading around it.

"Duly noted….in OTHER NEWS, Nana says it's almost dinner time and that you need to go help the other guests in with their bags." Harper delivered this news with her hands still over her eyes. Before either adult could respond, she was out the door, making sure to engage the lock on the knob.

/

Back on the bottom floor, Harper returned to find her age appropriate friends still at it. She had recently played air hockey with her cousin Jazz, and now she was moving over to Moriah, who was actually her age.

"I want to fangirl SO bad, but I know it's not really polite, is it?" She asked. Moriah Grant was thirteen as well with braces and a small bit of acne. She was very skinny and had hair that was so puffy and thick, you would assume she was of mixed race. She wore glasses and sat on the ottoman sipping fruit punch. Harper couldn't help but think this girl was screaming for a makeover.

"I guess not…but do what you have to do." Harper answered.

"See, Mo...if you looked more like Harper, maybe you could get more than 2 likes on your Instagram page." Jason smirked at her.

"Pay him no mind. There's nothing wrong with-" Jackson Grant, another cousin, was about to save Moriah, but Jason had other plans.

"Dude, she's your cousin. If a girl decided to approach you looking like this, would you-"

Jackson shook his head and went to walk off. Harper decided now was a good time to see how "cool" her cousins really were.

"Actually, Moriah, I was wondering if you wanted to bunk with me? As of now, I am all alone in my room and I just walked in on my parents sucking face so I need someone to talk to."

Moriah looked like a deer in the headlights. Jason and Jackson both stood off to the side with their mouths slightly agape. Harper rotated her wrist, as if to tell Moriah 'an answer would be good'.

"Of course! Oh my, gosh, YES! Anna, Kate, and Marley are gonna be so mad!"

"How about you help me get my bags out of the car. You can tell me more about Anna, Kate, and Marley then." Harper smiled at her.

"No need. We can tell you anything you wanna know right now." Anna stated flatly. Kate and Marley flanked her sides as they stood blocking the door. Harper took a deep breath. She was used to people freaking out around her and had even read mean tweets before, but this seemed different. The girls were mean mugging her and Moriah and from the silence Jackson, Jason, and everyone else in the room was giving off right now, she could tell these girls weren't exactly everyone's favorite. The little known fact in the room was that Harper had the mouth and mind of her mother.

_Such a shame…They don't know who they are messing with…_Harper thought to herself as a smirk grin emerged on her face.

This could turn ugly.

**AN: Ok, so I feel like this chapter is kinda all over the place, but I need some positive OLITZ vibes in my life right now. WTF is up with the winter finale!? Was I the ONLY person who wanted to throw my remote right through the TV? (YEEEAAAHHH, the first AN was before the episode…this one is NOW…) **

**My only SOLACE is that I know they have to have something interesting happen in Feb…however, I PRAY we don't have to wait 2 seasons for Olitz action again. They were doing so good! I'm all for prochoice and all, but I think Liv should have ran that by Fitz first….it's not like she impregnated herself! Also, who runs around with so much energy after an abortion? I haven't had one, but I know ppl who did and they were groggy and beat afterward. And WHAT THE HUCK!? I almost peed my pants with the "which white guy do you want in your daughter" line….like really?**

**OK…rant over. Hopefully they are shooting more Olitz stuff for feb…the cast tweeted they were already shooting for Feb tonight. I will FOREVER SHIP OLITZ! I just cannot with them right now, so I'm going to just keep my feelings to myself on it. (they are so hurt!) **

**ANYWHO, review! Comment! (POLITELY, PLEASE!) Let me know what you think about this chapter…I know it was kinda out there, but it was what came to mind. I don't outline my stories…I kinda already know what I want to happen but I have to write different things to get them there so….YEAH… Any predictions on the mean girls that just stepped into the room? **

**Happy reading! **

**XOXO**


	16. Chapter 16

**TMBA **

**CH 16**

Fitz made his way downstairs ahead of Olivia, who had excused herself to the restroom only seconds after Harper exited the room. When he got the front door, he was met with the faces of his teenage cousins and niece.

"Anna, how are you?" Fitz smiled at the teenager who was flanked by cousins. Anna was the daughter of his brother, Roosevelt and his wife Trish. They weren't exactly the people he was most eager to see, but at the same time, this little reunion was pretty much because of his offspring so he figured he would put on a good face.

"Uncle Fizzy….I would ask you how you are doing, but the media pretty much told me all I need to know." Anna snarled at him as she dropped her bags at his feet and stepped over them. Her idiotic counterparts, who Fitz knew as Kate and Marley, followed suit and left a total of about 5 bags for him to carry.

_If I wasn't the man I am now, I swear I would have snatched a knot in her little a-_

His thoughts were cut off by his brother, Roosevelt calling his name.

"Fitz! How the fuck are you, dude?" He said as she made his way to Fitz. Fitz tensed a bit at his language, but decided to TRY to shake it off.

Fitz groaned silently, wishing he were anywhere but here and hoping he didn't have to put his brother and sister-in-law in their place. Trish reminded Fitz of a well-dressed lap dog, following her "owner" around in a circle and doing whatever needed to be done all while looking model like…

Well, everything EXCEPT raising their kid, Anna, who was clearly an accident.

Fitz just sighed.

"Rosie…how are you?" Fitz asked as he bent to pick up the discarded bags left by the devil's offspring. He knew calling his brother by this name would positively make his ass itch and he wanted to at least get the first punch in….

As childish as it was, Fitz didn't even care.

"I'm good. Glad to be out of the car with those cackling females! Man, I can deal with my own considering I have to, but those others? Nah, I'm good bro…speaking of females, I hear you-"

"I would think really hard about the next words that come out of your mouth." Fitz dropped his voice a few octaves and Trish stopped walking behind Roosevelt, both of them catching on to his tone.

"I didn't mean…never mind, dude. I wasn't gonna cross you like that. I was just gonna ask if she was here."

Fitz was NO IDIOT. He knew his brother and his snarky ways. He also knew that there were NO positive reasons behind him asking about Liv and could feel his blood begin to boil. Roosevelt and Fitz had been close as children, but as Roosevelt grew older and realized how much allowance they got a year THROUGH COLLEGE, not to mention what that money could by….well let's just say he started "feeling" himself too much.

"She is here…as a matter of fact…" Fitz turned around at the angelic voice of Olivia. He sighed inwardly, thinking "here we go…"

"Hi, I'm Olivia. It's nice to meet you." She extended her hand to Roosevelt and his wife while keeping her other arm snuggly around Fitz's waist. Liv could physically feel Fitz relax under her touch and wanted to pat herself on the back for that one.

"Olivia, the pleasure is all mine. My wife, Trish…" Roosevelt motioned for Trish to lean forward and shake Liv's hand.

"Ahhhh, I see where you daughter, Anna, gets her looks from. Speaking of, Anna?" Liv called behind her without losing eyesight with Trish and Roosevelt.

Anna came stomping back out the door, STILL flanked by her mean girl crew, and the crew grabbed their bags off the ground. Fitz stood still, a bit shocked as the girls grabbed all but 2 of their bags. Anna broke the silence.

"Uncle Fizzy, can you PULEEASE get the rest of our bags?" her tone was ANYTHING but polite, but the fact that she was actually asking had Fitz at a loss for words. Roosevelt and Trish seemed to be in a trance as well, watching their generally spoiled brat of a daughter succumb to the instruction of an adult.

"I'm sure he won't have an issue with that since you actually asked him this time. It's much more refreshing to see you ladies at least try to help getting your loads of bags in the house. As I was just telling your parents, I can definitely see where you get your….Looks...from." Liv finished with a smirk on her lips. The girls were steaming, but especially Anna. She looked like someone had flat out pissed in her cheerios and Liv had to bite her bottom lip to keep from bursting out into a laugh.

"Ah, well thank you, Olivia. If you will excuse us…" Roosevelt and his lap dog made their way into the house, leaving Fitz and Liv on the porch alone for a moment.

When the door closed, Fitz released a sigh and began to laugh. Liv just stood beside him, smiling like the cat that ate the canary and twisting from side to side with her hands linked behind her back.

"Livvie, really? How did you…"

"Fitz, you know me…well enough I hope to know that I will NOT tolerate such awfulness from a CHILD. I don't care how old you are or who you belong to…if I come across you acting foolish, it's over. Period. Harper could have told them that." She began to laugh.

Liv continued to tell him about how when the girls came inside, they were talking about Fitz, Liv, and Harper in not so nice tones and words. They girls seemed to have a vendetta out for the trio and were expressing their first battle win with the bag fiasco when Liv emerged from the stairs and burst their bubble.

"Ok. But they didn't come back at you? At ALL?" Fitz was in awe now.

"Fitz, baby…" Liv smiled as she moved in closer to him, placing a chaste kiss on his lips.

"Game recognize game, baby. Let's just say she knew better. I can't wait for her and Harper to meet…." She stated through laughter and turned to reenter the home.

Fitz followed behind her smiling to himself and feeling a bit more confident about everyone being under the same roof.

/

Harper stood her ground, one hand on her hip and the other hip popped slightly out. She was ready for battle and with the room as silent as could be, apparently everyone else was too.

"So, it's actually you, hunh? You actually had to audacity to show your face? You do realize you were a bastard of a child before a few months ago, right?" Anna asked as she went to push past Harper. Harper was indeed her mother's child. She knew how to school her face in order to not show emotion, but inside, she was beyond pissed.

Thirty eight hot would probably best describe her temper right now.

"I'm sorry, I was just trying to make sure you were speaking to me." Harper kept her face stoic and her tone simple, but firm. Marley was the next to speak up.

"Well, she sure as hell wasn't talking about the chea pet standing next to you." All three girls snickered. The rest of the room remained silent. Moriah's cheeks grew hot and red and Harper felt her temper starting to rise a little more.

"What's up, brace face?" Kate chimed in. "did you want to say something?"

Harper looked over at Moriah, who kept her gaze at the floor. She looked around at the rest of the room, waiting on someone else besides her to speak up. When she realized no one else was going to speak, she took a deep breath and decided now was the time. Clearly either everyone else was afraid or waiting to see what kind of balls Harper actually had….

KING SIZE.

Harper took a few steps toward the trio and chuckled lightly. "Yeah, ok, so FIVE, the way you came in here, you might want to go back to the original cast of Mean Girls and get more lessons because that shit is SOOOOO played out. FOUR, when you walk past me again, it would behoove you to at least say excuse me because trust and believe I give NO FUCKS about wiping the floor with your dusty asses. THREE, Moriah is, at this very moment, none of your concern although if I were you, I would think twice about how her name and anyone else's comes out of your mouth again after right now. TWO, I was ACTUALLY going to talk to Mo about you guys and how we could possibly have a NICE time during this trip, but CLEARLY that is NOT going to happen, which brings to me to ONE…."

By now, Harper was in Anna and her click's faces and her tone was all but considered yelling.

"Who my parents are or are NOT, and who I do or don't belong to is NONE of your DAMN business so I suggest when you come at me, you do your homework and come correct."

Anna, Marley, and Kate all took a deep breath. Anna seemed to be the most disturbed by Harper's rant and was about to fix her lips to comeback when Katherine's voice drew the ladies out of their zone.

"Anna, sit down somewhere. It's a shame that I found you in exactly the place I figured I would when I came down here." Katherine was pretty much the only person Anna actually respected and listened to so when her Nana spoke, she listened and sat down, followed by her make up wearing minions.

"Harper, sweetheart, come with me. Moriah, your parents are looking for you, dear."

Harper took a step back from Anna, but didn't take her eyes off of her until she was turned by Katherine. As soon as she did, Katherine noticed the same fire in her eyes that she had seen in Fitz's as a child. She did her best to channel her amusement, but as soon as she went to escort Harper and Moriah out of the room, Anna tried her luck again.

"So, you aren't gonna say anything back to her? She cursed me, Nana!" Anna tried to bring fake tears to her eyes. The sound of her voice made Harper want to turn around again, but Katherine pushed her out the door and up the stairs before responding to Anna.

"As well she should have. You had better be glad it was her and not me because mine would have included tagging your hide, young lady!" Katherine hissed. Anna gulped and sat back, clearly sulking.

As they reached the top of the stairs, Moriah excused herself to go join her parents. Harper wished she could have said something to her, hoping she didn't offend her by taking up for her. Katherine insisted Harper join her in her husband's study. After the door closed, Harper turned to face Katherine and took a deep breath, bracing herself for the tongue lashing she was going to receive.

"Harper, sweetheart, I have only just met you today. As the Matriarch of this family, I simply cannot condone such behavior, especially from a young lady." Katherine's face was stone straight and her tone was clipped. Harper felt her heart sink, tears already beginning to surface in her eyes. She had already failed her new family and couldn't do anything about it.

Katherine shocked her when she continued in a softer voice.

"…But, as your grandmother, I say right on, girlfriend. You are clearly the missing piece to the youth in this family. No one ever stands up to those three, and I heard each and every word you said. I wish there hadn't been as many sailor's words in there, but nevertheless, I am more than proud of you, sweetheart." Katherine walked toward Harper as she spoke and Harper allowed tears to stream down her face.

Katherine wiped her eyes with her apron and continued to speak.

"You know, when you father was your age, he didn't take too lightly to someone being bullied either. He actually got into physical altercations because of it. He didn't take any foolishness off of anyone and this made him stick out like a sore thumb. I suppose shouldn't be surprised since you are his spitting image, but I can't help but wonder how much of that came from your gem of a mother."

"I'm sorry, Nana Katherine. I didn't mean to disrespect-"

"Oh, sweet girl, you are ok. I'm just proud of your for standing up for yourself and Moriah back there. I know what you have been through and let's just say Moriah hasn't had the easiest road coming up recently either.

Harper nodded, filing that info away for later.

"Stop all there tears. I'm not upset with you, baby. Just promise me after you calm down and they settle in their new places, you will try once more to get along with them before this trip ends?" Katherine smiled at her. Harper nodded and Katherine kissed her temple, pulling her in for an embrace.

Harper released a deep breath. Crisis avoided….

For now…

**AN: so, what did you think? I feel like Harp could have snapped a little harder, but as long as the terrible trio learned their lessons, she won't have to do that again. Do you think they will give up? **

**Any predictions on the rest of this trip? I'm not one for much drama, so just trust and believe that unless I'm in the cliffhanger mood, all drama/angst in a chapter will be nipped in the bud that chapter from here on out. This trip should last at least 2 more chapters and this story has between 5-7 more chapters left in it. **

**BTW, I really miss TFTH! It was my baby and I plan to update it soon…I actually do work 2 jobs though, so it will HOPEFULLY be one day this weekend….**

**Happy Reading!  
XOXO **


	17. Chapter 17

**WARNING: Filler chapter ahead…sorry! Still trying to get my life and muses back running smoothly again!**

**I own NOTHING! SR OWNS THESE CHARACTERS…I JUST LOVE TWISTING THEM FROM TIME TO TIME! HEHEHE…..**

**TBS**

**CH 17**

Liv made her way into the kitchen to grab more wine. She had been in a pretty decent conversation with some of Fitz's relatives and a refill was much needed. As she made her way into the kitchen, she heard sniffles and the tail end of Katherine's voice.

"…Just promise me after you calm down and they settle in their new places, you will try once more to get along with them before this trip ends?"

Liv froze, not wanting to interrupt the grandmother/granddaughter moment, but burning to know just what had happened. She peeped around the corner and saw Katherine and her daughter embracing and could swear her heart dropped. Seeing and hearing that there was an issue and that Harper was involved AND that Katherine had to step in didn't sit well with her. Deciding she couldn't hold out much longer, she decided to make her presence known.

She cleared her throat as she entered the kitchen. Katherine and Harper both look at her like deer caught in headlights. Liv forced a smile on her face and Katherine seemed to accept it. Harper, on the other hand, knew that look and knew her mom had probably heard enough to be concerned.

"Nana, can I talk to my mom for a minute?" she asked meekly as she peered up and into Katherine's own personal set of Grant eyes.

"Of course sweetie." She answered as she kissed Harper on the forehead. She made eye contact with Liv and winked her eye, silently letting her know that everything was indeed alright. Once Katherine was out of the room, Harper moved to take a seat on one of the bar stools across from the fridge. Liv turned on her heels and locked eyes with her daughter. The duo was in an intense stare off.

"Livvie? You in here?" Fitz's voice came flowing through the room but neither Liv nor Harper moved a muscle.

Fitz froze when he saw the pair locked in what seemed like a heated game of stare off.

"Harp? Livvie?" he asked cautiously. Neither acknowledged him so he decided to make himself comfortable, leaning against the counter. Approximately thirty seconds later, Harper broke.

"Mom, seriously, let me explain."

Liv cut her eyes at Fitz, looked back at Harper, and nodded. Fitz's interests were definitely peaked now.

"I didn't do anything wrong. Anna and her group of minions started in on me first. She called me a bastard child, made fun of Moriah RIGHT IN HER FACE, and everyone else in that damn-"

"Harper!" Liv snapped.

"UGH…..DARN room acted like they were afraid of her."

"She called you a what!?" Fitz's face was growing red. Liv moved to stand near him, wrapping her arms around his waist and trying to calm him.

"I didn't say or do anything to her AT FIRST, but she had it coming, Mom!"

"What did you say to her?"

Harper froze at this moment. She didn't know if she should tell her mom about her little mini OP countdown or just give her the basic gist. Liv raised an expectant eyebrow at her and Harper decided to go with the basics.

"Let's just say I got her off of me AND Moriah. But, Nana Katherine overheard it and brought me up here to cool off. She asked me to watch my language, but she agreed with everything I said. You can ask her." Harper finished in a quiet and defeated voice as she dropped her head.

Fitz couldn't help but feel a sense of pride about himself. His little girl could definitely handle her own and if he knew those brats like he thought he did, they likely did have it coming to them. He couldn't help but smirk at Harper as he wished he could have been a fly on the wall to witness all this. Liv glanced up at him, catching his smirk, and he quickly wiped the grin off his face.

"Harp, listen. I'm sure Moriah is grateful, but you can't go around being the hero babygirl. Those girls were definitely out of line for what they said and I'm sure you gave them what they deserved, but please promise me you will try to go a different route next time?" Liv asked as she removed herself from Fitz's embrace and hugged her daughter. She inwardly wanted to jump up and down at how her daughter responded, but she had to be a parent at this present point.

"Yes ma'am." Harper nodded, wiping a lone tear as it slipped down her face. Fitz moved to his daughter, hugging her from the side and planting a kiss on the side of her head and then doing the same to Liv.

Harper's phone decided at that point to chirp, signaling an incoming message.

"Hey Mom, look." Harper showed Liv and message from her publicist asking why she couldn't get in touch with Liv and asking if she was available for a last minute gig not too far from where they were.

"Um, I don't know Harp. I mean, we are here with family and-"

"What is it, Liv?" Fitz asked. Liv moved to show him the text and he nodded, swallowing the water in his mouth.

"mmmmm, I bet it's the Tribute to Love thing they are filming not too far from here." He responded as if they knew what he was talking about. When he saw both Harp and Liv look at him like he had 4 heads, he chuckled and continued.

"you know, the VH-1 thing they air every year? It's usually filmed not too far from here. I bet they want you to take someone's spot. I heard there was going to be a lot of talent this year. John Legend, Mariah Carey, that chick that sings about bass…."

Harper smiled and shook her head. Looking at her mom, she could tell that she wasn't completely sold so she excused herself, hoping Fitz would talk her into it.

/

Not wanting to go back to the dungeon yet, Harper decided to give herself a small impromptu tour of the home. She went down a few hallways, admiring several pieces of art and sculptures. She turned a corner and came to a large wooden door with an ampersand on it. Curious, she moved to open it and it was surprisingly unlocked. Her breath caught in her throat as she took in what she saw.

Music instruments lined the walls. She counted about 30 different guitars, flutes, clarinets, all versions of saxophones, drumsets, a sound board, a mic set, and even a small recording booth in the corner. Her eyes started to gloss and mouth water as she thought of how much she missed music in the last few weeks. This trip had been her dad's idea and even though she wanted to go, she missed making and listening to music so much.

Easing the door closed, Harper moved deeper into the room. Some of Fitz's number one records lined the walls. She spotted a few Grammy awards and several other music awards as well. Only when she found herself getting dizzy did she lower her head and take a breath. Her eyes landed on an acoustic guitar in the corner. It looked different from the others….like maybe it hadn't been played in a while. It was dustier than the others and after a few picks of the strings, she found that it needed to be tuned as well.

In less than a few minutes, she had not only tuned the guitar to perfection, but also started to pick a few tunes.

You're the light

You're the night

You're the color of my blood….

She continued to pick and sing her newest tune. After a while, she found a pen and pad and even changed the ending of her song and lyrics. Harper was truly in her own element and didn't hear the door open.

"I see you found my secret stash." Fitz's voice startled her almost to the point where she dropped the guitar.

"You know, when I'm conflicted I like to write and play too. This guitar was the very first one I learned to play on so long ago…even before me and your mom. I used to come in this very room and play for hours, writing songs and just fooling around until whatever was on my mind was solved." He shared with her as he moved deeper into the room. He sat across from her as she lowered the guitar.

"Let me hear what you have so far?" he asked. Harper was stunned. She thought he would tell her to go back out with the other's but relieved that he understood that she needed this. She started to pick again and played the ending of her song and Fitz watched in awe.

Once she was done, she heard another voice enter the room.

"Ok Harp…I'm not blind. I know you are miserable because you haven't had much exposure to music lately and your new found friends downstairs aren't helping the matters any so here's how this is going to go. You are singing with John Legend because Meghan had an emergency and couldn't make it. Here's the song…" Liv moved to hand Harper sheet music and lyrics to the piece she would be performing. "You have to be there in about 5 hours, so that gives you time to learn everything. There will be someone dispatched and ready for you to help with hair, makeup, and wardrobe. You are supposed to stay the whole time, but we are still trying to work that detail out." Liv was in full business mode and Harper was about to burst at the seams.

"So….I can go?" she asked still pouting like a child. Liv smirked a little.

"Yeah, you can go…"

"YES! OH, Mom, thank you so much! I already know this song! I love it SOOOO much….this is EXACTLY what I-"

"Not so fast, Harp. There is one condition." Liv bit her lip before she spoke again.

"Your new found family is coming too."

Harper didn't see a problem immediately with that. She loved to perform and couldn't wait until her grandparents heard her. She wanted her new aunts and uncles and cousins and….

_COUSINS…Wait, so they are coming too!?_

_Shitfuck…. _She thought.

**AN: HEY! 2 in one night! I know neither of these stories (I updated Brave too!) have much going on in these new updates, but I wanted to put SOMETHING out there! So Harper is going to perform in front of her new side of the family…any ideas? **

**I love the dynamic between Fitz and Liv and how they parent. I have had a few requests to focus the story more on them and so starting next chapter, we surely will do that! (some of you want some fluffly smut from them….rest assured, it's in the plans…but we won't lose focus on Harper!)**

**Please review! I miss you all so much and I apologize for not updating sooner. Coming up next…the concert, Harper's family's reactions, a LITTLE more in depth OLITZ action, and maybe a few more surprises…**

**Happy Reading!**

**XOXO**


	18. Chapter 18

**Hey! Yep, another update! I couldn't get this scene out of my head so…yeah…here ya go! Also, *spoiler alert* if you haven't heard "Like I'm gonna lose you" by Meghan Trainor Ft. John Legend, please listen to it about 2/3 down the story…..hehehe!**

**Happy Reading! **

**XOXO**

**TBS**

**CH 18**

By the time Fitz, Liv, and Harper made it to the show, the place was packed. This year's event was being held in the courtyard of a very famous music producer. The entire home was solid white, and even the outside courtyard was marble floored. The place seemed like something you would imagine instead of actually plan to perform on.

Harper was immediately rushed away to hair and makeup. Liv accompanied along with her publicist, whom had taken the flight out for the occasion. Moriah was more than elated when Harper invited her and the other cousins to the show, but nothing quite topped the cake like when she invited Moriah backstage with her.

You would have thought Moriah had just hit the lottery!

"Oh my gosh, Harper! I'm totally trying not to fangirl here, but have you seen everyone who's here!? I think I just saw Usher! I'm going to faint!" Moriah's pale cheeks were even whiter than usual. Harper snickered at her cousin.

"Hey, calm it down! Everything is ok. Yeah, I think that was him. I'll be sure to introduce-"

"EEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKK!"

Liv was making her way to Harper's dressing room when she heard the screech. She popped into the room just in time to witness Moriah almost knock Harper off of her feet. Smiling to herself, she stood by the door and once Harper made eye contact with her, Liv nodded.

"Moriah, how about one more surprise?" Liv smiled at the young girl as she whipped around with her face blank. Inwardly, Moriah wondered how much better this could actually get.

"Um, sure Miss-"

"Olivia, Liv, or Livvie." Liv corrected sternly but sweetly.

"Um, ok, Miss Liv." Harper chuckled, earning her a playful look from her mother. Just as they grew quiet, a knock came from the door. Liv opened it and two men entered the room with a nice size clothing rack in tow. Liv thanked and tipped the men, and once they walked out, hair and makeup waltzed right in around them.

"Well Harper, why don't you fill her in on the next surprise?" Fitz's voice came sailing through the room and Moriah's face turned 2 shades of deep red. Before Harper could disclose the last surprise, Moriah interrupted with a simple, but interesting question.

"Um, wait. I'm sorry….I just…It makes me nervous when people are too nice to me and so I was just wondering why."

Harper looked confused. "Why what?"

"Well, why me? Why do I get all these surprises when everyone else-"

"Mo…" Fitz interrupted. "Everyone is going to get a big surprise tonight…"

Harper's ears perked at this news but decided to remain stoic…

"…but the reason you are getting such special treatment is because-well, tell her Harp!" Liv couldn't help but laugh as she witnessed the exchange. Fitz could be such a kid at heart.

Harper grabbed Moriah's hand and looked deep into her eyes.

"Because you saw me when no one else did. You didn't see Harper Pope the singer. You saw me, just plain old Harper." She smiled at Moriah nodding with tears in her eyes. Liv and Fitz embraced yet again watching their daughter become such a beautiful young woman.

"So, ok, we don't have much time here. Mo, I'm wearing the outfit in the black bag hanging up. Everything else is fair game." Harper grew quiet and counted down in her head the number of seconds it would take before Moriah figured it out.

"Hunh? Ok, wait, so-WAIT...so I get to…you are…so I'm gonna…..EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!"

Twenty minutes, 3 dress fittings, and a good amount of make up and hair do's later, both ladies were ready. Harper was wearing a winter white dress that stopped mid-knee and a pair of black suede wedge ankle boots. Her hair was curled into large spirals that flowed with body around her face. Moriah's hair was straightened and light make up applied. She had decided on a lavender colored dress that was more of a halter style, showing off her freckle covered shoulders. Like Harp's, Moriah's dress stopped about mid knee and she had decided against heels siting her clumsiness. She instead wore a pair of designer black and purple flats.

Once Moriah joined the rest of the family for the show in their seats, she caught everyone's attention. Her parents cooed over her new look. Everyone seemed to be in awe at the beautiful young woman's appearance. Harper peeked around the stage to guage their reactions. She was pleasantly pleased at everyone except Anna and her crew, who looked like they wanted to claw Moriah's eyes out.

_Mission accomplished_, she thought as she walked away with a smirk.

It was finally time. Harper went through her usual regimen before a performance, much like her mother's process.

She talked to herself.

_OK, focus Harp. _

_You know this song, you know John pretty well, and you know the plan. _

_Remember to breathe, make eye contact with people…_

_Not too many runs and high notes because you haven't practiced in such a long time and Dad might-_

Dad. She froze in her tracks as it finally hit her that tonight her father was going to see her perform for the first time as HER FATHER. She was excited and nervous all at the same time and when John came to get her personally, she swallowed her pride and nerves, walked into his outstretched arms, and left for the stage.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much for attending tonight. We have a special treat for you all! First off, let me give a special shout out to my name sake here, Moriah Grant, who I hear is such a huge fan of mine. Such a beautiful young lady and I hope we can remain in contact with each other after tonight." Mariah Carey concluded as applause rang out. Moriah's face was of course super red as everyone smiled and a few people snapped pictures of her standing on stage next to none other than tonight's host and her LIFETIME HERO, Mariah Carey.

"Our last performance of the night was going to be a duet by John Legend and Meghan Trainor, but unfortunately, Meghan was unable to attend tonight."

The crowd awed at this and Mariah continued.

"Lucky for us, Moriah's cousin decided to fill those shoes for us at the last minute. Ladies and gentleman, HARPER POPE!"

The entire crowd went wild. For the most part, Harper's attendance was kept under wraps from everyone and it was easy for the Grant's to see how much everyone adored her.

The lights went low and as the music started to play, Harper appeared and began her entrance walking on stage and singing at the same time.

I found myself dreaming in silver and gold  
Like a scene from a movie that every broken heart knows

(Harper had made her way to mid stage as she sang and soon after, Moriah appeared on her side with Fitz in tow, looking rather handsome in his tux and confused as he could be)

We were walking on moonlight, you pulled me close  
Split second and you disappeared and then I was all alone  
Woke up in tears with you by my side  
Breath of relief and I realized,  
No, we're not promised tomorrow

(Harper was now singing to her father and Fitz did everything in his power to NOT cry. He smiled at her as she took his hand while she sang sweetly and quickly dried what few tears streamed down his face)

[Chorus]  
So, I'm gonna love you like I'm gonna lose you,  
I'm gonna hold you like I'm saying goodbye  
Forever will stay in, I won't take you for granted  
'Cause we'll never know when we'll run out of time  
So, I'm gonna love you like I'm gonna lose you,  
I'm gonna love you like I'm gonna lose you

(Harper had held Fitz's hand during the chorus. He let go of her hand, reached in his back pocket, and began to sing the second verse. Harper's hands flew to her mouth to cover her reaction. Fitz pointed to the side stage where John Legend was now playing he acoustic guitar as he sang.)

In a blink of an eye,  
Just a whisper of smoke

(Fitz made his way down the small set of stairs and over to Liv, who looked like she wanted to kill him for bringing attention to her. He quickly drug her up on stage, applause growing louder and louder as people realized what was happening.)

You could lose everything  
The truth is you're never alone  
So, I'll kiss you longer baby  
Any chance that I get  
I'll make the most of the minutes  
So long with no regret  
Let's take our time to say what we want  
Here's what we've got  
Before it's all gone  
'Cause no, we're not promised tomorrow

(Liv stayed beside Fitz as he held her hand in his singing. Harper was on the other side of Liv and together she and Fitz brought the house down with their rendition of the song.)  
[Chorus]  
So, I'm gonna love you like I'm gonna lose you,  
I'm gonna hold you like I'm saying goodbye  
Forever will stay in, I won't take you for granted  
'Cause we'll never know when we'll run out of time  
So, I'm gonna love you like I'm gonna lose you,  
I'm gonna love you like I'm gonna lose you

[Chorus]  
I'm gonna love you like I'm gonna lose you,  
I'm gonna hold you like I'm saying goodbye  
Forever will stay in, I won't take you for granted  
'Cause we'll never know when we'll run out of time  
So, I'm gonna love you like I'm gonna lose you,  
I'm gonna love you like I'm gonna lose you

By the end of the song, there wasn't a dry eye in the house. It was the perfect way to end such a spectacular night. The performance received a standing ovation from everyone, including John Legend himself. The entire Grant clan stood and cheered as well. Applause, whistles, and flashes were going off by the millisecond.

Once everyone was off stage, Fitz hugged his daughter.

"Sweetheart, that was wonderful! I'm so proud of you!" he gushed. Harper laughed and hugged her father back as tightly as she could. Fitz released her and turned to find Liv standing quietly to the side witnessing the entire ordeal.

"Livvie…"

"Fitz, just stop." Her voice told him she was NOT happy with him and he prepared himself for the tongue lashing he was about to receive.

"That was either the dumbest…or most ROMANTIC thing anyone has ever done for me. Thank you so much." Liv finished almost in a whisper as she walked toward him and kissed the dumbfound look right off of his face. Fitz was too shocked to kiss back at first but quickly caught on. He wrapped his arms around her slender body and deepened the kiss even more, earning cat calls and whistles from people that walked by. The finally ended the kiss, remaining forehead to forehead and staring into each other's eyes. The love this couple felt radiated off of them and anyone within a few feet could feel it.

Harper smiled at the couple. The kiss got pretty heated, so she decided to excuse herself and give the adults as much privacy as she could in a backstage corner. She wanted to get cleaned up a bit before her family arrived backstage, so she tip toed off toward her dressing room. Thoroughly proud of being able to perform with her dad AND pull a stunt like that off without a hitch, she was seemingly in her own world as she floated by people congratulating her and bragging on her, telling her "job well done".

She was still in a state of euphoria when she entered her room….so much so, that she barely even noticed the figure standing in the by the dresser mirror looking back at her.

"Harper."

Frozen, she dropped the water bottle she had open in her hand and the towel she was holding as well. When she finally found her voice to respond, it conveyed all of her emotions at that very moment…

"….NICK!?"

**AN: guys, this chapter has been floating around in my mind ALL DAY at work and I HAD to put it down to night before I forgot. I hope you liked it!  
The song is called "Like I'm gonna lose you" and it's by Meghan Trainor Ft. John Legend. I DO NOT OWN ANY RIGHTS TO THIS SONG OR THE CHARACTERS OF SCANDAL! If you've never heard it, please do! (I LOVE THIS SONG SO MUCH!) also, if you skipped the lyrics, you probably missed the print in parenthesis, which was what was happening during the song. I encourage you to read that part with the song playing the background so you can hear and hopefully imagine what I wanted to happen. **

**Sooooo…DUM DOM DUUUUUUUMMMMMM! It's Nick! What do you think is going to happen? Any ideas? Again, thank you so much for the reviews and kind words. I truly am so grateful for you all. **

**I hope to update the rest of my stories this week too, but it's going to be a rather busy one for me.**

**Next up, the Grant's reactions to the performance, the situation with Nick finally comes to a head, and hopefully we can have a bit more OLITZ action….**

**Happy Reading!**

**XOXO**


	19. Chapter 19

**WARNING:**** this chapter was hard to write…I actually got chills as I typed it but it has to be done…this was the plan, after all. Remember…most angst in my stories is usually solved within a few chapters so don't fret…**

**There is violence in this chapter so if you can't deal with it, wait for 20… ( I have an EXTREME TOOTHACHE so let's blame that for all the violence…..seriously….)**

**Happy Reading!**

**XOXO**

**TBS **

**CH 19**

The sun shown through the newly renovated home like something you would see in a Southern Living magazine. It had a bit of a yellow/orange tint to it, giving it a very tranquil feel. Harper made her way from her bedroom down the hall toward the study. She could hear her father's breath as it was so quiet in the house.

Gingerly she eased the door open and the sight before her made her heart leap. Her father and mother were curled up on the leather couch in the study, smiling sweetly and looking at something on her mother's IPad. Neither noticed Harper right off, and for that she was grateful because she was able to just enjoy the view. She loved bother her parents dearly…but seeing them together after all that had transpired was the ultimate reprieve. She smiled to herself as her father buried his nose into her mother's hair, taking in a huge breath and kissing her temple. The love that radiated off of them at this moment was breathtaking.

As she stood there, Harper couldn't help but flash back at all that had transpired since that night over 3 years ago.

FLASHBACK

_Liv and Fitz…_

_Still standing in Fitz's embrace, Liv glanced down the hallway as her daughter glided toward her dressing room. She, along with Fitz and everyone who had witnessed what just happened were all still floating on cloud 9. After seeing Harper disappear in the sea of supporters, Liv felt a twinge of guilt for not being there to protect her…_

_But she was TOO comfortable in Fitz's arms and thought Harper would be okay for a few minutes. _

"_Livvie?" Fitz's voice sounded again, rumbling in his throat and chest beneath her head. She smiled and looked up and into his eyes…._

"_Fitz…" she whimpered. Being mindful of who was standing around, Liv attempted to move back a bit in his embrace. _

"_Uh unh…no way…" Fitz tightened his grip on her. _

"_What?" Liv smirked, chuckling up at him. _

"_You aren't getting out of my arms….not again." Fitz finished and before she had a chance to argue, Fitz attached his lips to hers, tasting her tongue and immediately forgetting where they were. _

"_FITZGERALD!" a weird voice boomed. _

_Fitz and Liv broke apart, but in two separate ways. _

_Liv's eyes were hooded and she was still in her Fitz-induced trance. _

_Fitz's eyes were wild because he heard his name and the tone used to call him. _

"_I'll show you! How DARE you flaunt another woman in my FUCKING FACE!" the voice shouted. Liv finally looked toward the commotion and then it started. _

_POW…_

_Some people dropped to the floor. Others started to scream. Chaos began, people rushing in every direction and noise began to come from every direction. Out of reflex, Fitz had gathered Liv in his arms at the sound. He felt her begin to get heavier and heavier in his arms and he wondered what was wrong…._

_Glancing down, he saw red. _

_Blood. _

_Liv looked as though she were letting blood run out of her mouth. _

"_Livvie!? LIV! Baby, what's wrong?" Fitz asked as he allowed her body to slide down to the floor with him. She had a wound on her arm and blood appeared to be seeping out of her dress. Moving quickly, Fitz ripped the fabric and found the culprit. _

_Liv had been shot through her arm and into her stomach. _

"_OLIVIA!" Fitz roared. Liv looked up at him and tried to speak, but only more blood would come out. Fitz heard another cock of the gun-no doubt another bullet being put into the chamber. He moved to turn his head and see what was going on and then everything went black…._

(Harper and Nick) *Same time as Liv and Fitz….*

"_Nick? What the hell are you doing here? "Harper was sure her heart was struggling to beat properly but she couldn't help herself. _

_Nick stood still as he took in her beauty. She was by far the most stunning girl he had ever seen and he missed her dearly. As he took on her face, he could tell that she wasn't exactly as happy to see him. _

"_You did great out there. I just…I just wanted to see your face. Just once…because you haven't returned my calls and I understand why. I miss you." He finished in once shaky breath. _

_This was true…Harper had still been avoiding him like the plague. She felt a smidgen of remorse for a moment but you couldn't look at her face and tell. _

"_Nick, we are so young. We have time to find other people and be….so why are you here? It's not safe for us to even be in the same place and when my dad comes in here-" _

_Nick cut her off and finished for her. "He's gonna kill me. And that's my problem…I'm here to say goodbye, Harp."_

_His words hit her like a ton of bricks and out of nowhere, she started to feel a weird feeling in her gut. _

_Something was __**way**__ off about all this…_

_Nick moved to walk closer to Harper, but she was quicker, effectively switching spots with him in an effort to keep the space. She wished she could get her cell phone but of course, as usual it's whereabouts were a mystery. _

"_Why won't you let me touch you?" Nick's words were slurring slightly and Harper wondered if he was drunk. _

"_I don't think we should-"_

_Nick blew up at her, shouting, "SCREW WHAT YOU THINK! What you think is how we ended up in this mess as it is…inability to be together…" by the time he reached the end of his statement, his voice was back above a whisper. _

_Harper knew at this point she had to find an escape. She never feared Nick…only his step mom and what she and Nick being together could do._

_As of this very second, she was terrified of him. _

_Taking a deep breath to steady her pulse, Harper fixed her stance and looked at Nick….like REALLY looked at him. His usual chocolate curls were now replaced by a greasy looking mat that was now his hair. He had slight dark circles under his eyes and he seemed….taller? _

_If she were being honest, he looked as though he had been going through hell. She was so caught up in trying to read his face, Harper didn't hear the door open to her left. _

"_Well, well, well, you know what they say right?" a peculiar voice sounded, instantly running chills down Harp's spine. She turned to see who the fake-happy voice resonated from and suddenly, Nick was in front of her and all hell broke loose. Glancing behind the woman who she remembered as being unwelcome at the press conference a while back, Harper tried to figure out who the woman's older accomplice was. _

"_If you want something done right…." POW. Mellie shot Nick in his stomach and Harper screamed, clasping her hands to her mouth. _

'_WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!?' She thought…_

_Nick dropped to his knees, grabbing his stomach and trying to look back over his shoulder at Harper. She saw fear in his eyes and in that instant, she understood what he had meant before…_

_He truly did come to say goodbye._

_Did he know what was about to happen?_

"_Hey fucktwad….killing someone is a lot easier if you actually TRY!" Quinn screeched as she rushed Nick and swung her pistol across his face, effectively knocking him out. _

_Harper was now backed into the corner of the room, her hands shaking as she watched in horror. What the hell did this woman want with her? She glanced at the other woman who still stood by the door. People were rushing by running and craziness seemed to be happening outside the door. _

"_Don't worry, pumpkin. Your mommy is dead and your daddy might be too…so they have nothing to miss. It's just me…" Mellie cocked her clip into place as she was now standing in front of a doe eyed Harper, "And you…" _

_Trying to kick the thought of her parents being shot up out of her head, Harper shook her head hard and forced herself to focus on the psycho in front of her. _

_My mom and dad are NOT dead…._

"_Wha…what do you want from me?" Harper moved her hands up by her head as if she were surrendering. _

"_Oh, it's quite simple, sweetie. I want what your mother had….I wanted YOU!" Mellie raised the gun to point at Harper's head as she talked and Harp did her best to NOT show any fear. _

"_You should have been mine, dear child. I bet you whore of a daddy doesn't even remember what we shared…Quinn here is a result of our union." Harper glanced at her apparent 'sister' then back at Mellie. _

"_Okay…And?" Harper challenged. _

_Mellie plastered a smile on her freaked out face and Harper grew even more afraid. _

"_AND…apparently he didn't give me a talented kid because the only thing Quinn here is good at is-" _

_Quinn decided to pipe in. "Killing people." She finished as she smirked. _

"_Okay, so in order to get away with this and finally move on with my life I need to hurry up…but since I'm a nice woman I suppose I'll fill you in. Ready, toots?" She asked as she continued to point the firearm at Harper's face. _

_Harper nodded and lowered her hands a bit. _

"_You daddy fucked me senseless one night years ago and got me pregnant. I tried to tell him, but he ignored me and in return, the universe blessed me with my batshit crazy daughter, Quinn. Your mother, on the other hand, has you as a secret love child AND keeps you a fucking secret and when he finds out, he breaks his neck to get near you. I don't want to see my child suffer." Mellie finished as she reached for Quinn. Quinn reached for her mother back and hugged her. Harper breathed a quick sigh of relief as Mellie lowered the gun. _

_POW._

_Harper jumped again and watched in silent horror as Quinn's lifeless body fell to the floor. _

"_Believe me, Harper, that's the most at peace she's been since she was alive. Her and my reject of a son. Everyone else is dead and so now it's just you and me. I wanted your bitch of a daddy to see you die but I suppose this will do." Mellie said as she raised her gun again at Harper. _

"_Mellie…." Fitz's voice sounded throughout the room. Mellie took a few side steps back. _

"_Of fucking course, superman. Come to save the day!" Mellie seemed to be childlike in her annoyance and in any other situation, Harper would probably laugh at her. _

_Not today…_

"_Daddy!" harper squealed, making an attempt to run but freezing in her tracks as Mellie pointed the gun at her again. _

"_Nope. Nice try, honey. Get back over there!" she growled. Harper moved back slowly as she got a good look at her father. Fitz was drenched in blood, but she could only see one wound…it was on his head as if he had been pistol whipped. _

"_Mellie, listen to me. I have told you time and time again that we are NOT together. There is no US. There never WAS….Quinn isn't my ch-"Fitz froze as his eyes landed on Quinn and Nick on the floor. _

_In that instance, Fitz swallowed the reality that Mellie TRULY might hurt Harper. _

"_SO THEN WHAT DO I HAVE TO LIVE FOR THEN? I DON'T HAVE ANYONE, FITZ! I HAVE FELT EMPTY INSIDE WATCHING YOU PARADE AROUND WITH ALL THOSE WHORES AND NEVER ONCE PAY ME ANY ATTENTION. QUINN IS YOUR DAUGHTER!" Mellie shot back. _

"_Mellie…." _

"_So this is it hunh? All because of this GIRL and Her MOTHER!? That's why I'm doing this. Harper pope will become my child now that her slutty mother is dead and I will finally have the recognition I deserve." _

_Fitz couldn't help but wonder how crazy Mellie really was. Livvie wasn't dead…the paramedics were taking her to the hospital as this was playing out but no way in hell was he going to tell her that. _

"_Mellie, there's no way-"_

"_SHUT UP! Mellie wailed….as she yelled and screamed, Fitz locked eyes with his babygirl and the fear he saw infuriated him even more. _

_Suddenly, the gun went off again. _

_POW!_

_Fitz felt all the color drain from his face as he took in the sight before him. Mellie still held the smoking gun as she now looked at Harper's body laying on the floor, gunshot to the chest. Fitz long forgot he fear he had for Mellie and her smoking gun and moved slowly toward his daughter as if walking or running full speed would hurt her. _

"_H….Haa…." Fitz was unable to make as sentence as he approached his daughter's lifeless body. _

"_Oh my GOD…" Mellie stated lowly. _

"_My….my babygirl…." Fitz whimpered as he dropped to his knees. _

"_Fitz, I didn't mean to…I didn't mean to shoot…holy FUCK! I'm so sorry!"_

"_Harper!" Fitz cried as he cradled her limp body. After a few moments, Fitz moved to stand with his daughter's body in his arms. He was now totally covered in fresh blood again. Mellie tried to touch his shoulder to apologize, but he shook her off, only focusing on his Harper. As he walked with her in his arms, he cried and kissed her face, apologizing with everything he had in him. He made it to the door when the police met him, asking him if he was okay. Out of nowhere, one more shot was heard. _

_POW._

_Fitz closed his eyes as he realized that Mellie, as crazy as she was, had just taken her own life. Shaking his head, Fitz continued his trek out of the room and out the door into a swarm of police, Ambulances, and Press. _

**AN: I know, I know…don't kill me! They aren't dead…they are clearly alive since this is a flashback. Mellie is ape shit crazy, but I doubt we will see much more of her. Is Nick dead? What was the extent of the injuries? **

**More soon…I hope. Thanks for continuing to follow me! **

**Happy Reading!**

**XOXO**


	20. Chapter 20

**TBS **

**CH 20**

_(Continued from the previous flashback)_

_Fitz POV_

_I had been sitting here for the past hour trying to quit crying. My dad always used to tell me that crying was okay as long as it was for the right reason. _

_Well, I had TWO reasons…_

_My Livvie was on my left, my babygirl Harper to my right. The two most important ladies in my life were fighting for their lives and all I could do was sit there and think. _

_Pray._

_Reflect. _

_My head was bandaged up pretty tight, but I was more than sure that I had never touched Mellie…_

_And then, it hit me. _

_I had several drunken one night stands and I was willing to bet she was one of them. As the realization that this was all my fault began to sink in, all I could do was fold over, hang my head, and cry. _

_My mom and family was still near. They were in the waiting room hoping for a good outcome. Everything that had happened had sent the people I love into a whirlwind of emotions and all anyone could do at this point was wait. _

_Livvie was in a coma. She hadn't woken up since she looked at me after being shot. She crashed twice in the ambulance on the way to the hospital, but was now at least breathing on her own and fighting for her life. _

_Harper was more severe. She was in a medically induced coma and had crashed several more times than Liv. She needed blood, which I desperately donated, and her lung was collapsed. The bullet grazed her heart, but did major damage to her lungs. _

_All I could do was wait... According to the doctor, all they could do was wait too…_

_And so, I prayed. _

_And cried._

_And….waited. _

_OPOV_

_It's cold, but the sun is out and it's beautiful here. The scenery in front of me is a beachfront. The sun is beaming down on my skin and everything in its path is shining and just…bright. I'm wearing a white maxi dress and I'm barefoot. I glance over to my right and I see my beautiful daughter. She's wearing the exact same thing as me and she's shivering. _

_I'm glad to see her…so glad! I was so worried…but as I watch her shiver when I hug her to me, something feels off. The last thing I remember is my stomach burning and tasting metal. I guess that was blood. I looked over to Fitz and everything faded black. _

_Am I dead? _

_Good LORD, is Harper dead too? _

_Where's Fitz? _

_Harper looked at me and I can see the same burning questions in her eyes….her beautiful Grant eyes. I don't know what to say or do so we just stand there together and hold each other. _

_HPOV_

_Everything fades black again as my mom and I stand together embraced. Nothing and everything makes sense and all I can think of is at least I'm not here alone. Light fades back into sight and suddenly we are at a church. It's decorated and I think it is a wedding….im pretty sure now because as I look toward the alter, I see a man and a woman. _

_I see my mom and dad! WOW! My mom looks so beautiful. I can still feel her embracing me as I look toward the alter, as if we are both seeing the same thing but for some reason I can't turn and look at her face right now. My body wont let me maybe? _

_They are beautiful and I think it's all done because they are kissing and everyone is clapping. Tears are cascading down my face as I watch the scene before me. I sure hope we aren't dead because I know my mom and dad love each other. I see myself walking behind them back down the alter and I look right into my own eyes. _

_OPOV_

_Everything fades to black again and I can barely see in front of me for the tears clouding my eyes. I want that. I want Fitz and marriage and happily ever after. I want it so much it hurts and to see if fade away like that makes my stomach turn. _

_Light fills the scenery again and this time I can see my Harp. She's laying in a hospital bed, but she looks as radiant as ever. She's holding a pink and blue bundle to her chest and I'm overjoyed because it seems to be a child. _

_My Harper will make a beautiful mother one day! My babygirl is surrounded by her father and a very handsome brown skin man, both of which are wiping tears of joy. Harper has sweat all around her head, her hair is matted to her head, and she looks as though she has aged about 10 years ever so gracefully. My mouth drops open as they all three look at me and Harper extends her hand for me to join them. _

_FPOV_

_It's been over 8 hours and still no change. I don't think I can physically cry anymore. My eyes are burning and my head is pounding and no matter how hard I try, I can't quite focus on anything being said to me by anyone who comes in here. _

_Out of no where, I hear the most beautiful voice calling out to me. _

"_Fitz?"_

_My head shoots up, causing more pain to radiate through my temple and to my brain. I think for a second I must be imagining things, but she says it again. _

"_Fitz? Baby? Are you there? Harper?" _

_My Livvie is awake! I almost trip over my feet as I jet to stand and come to her side. She has gauze on her head even though I don't remember her head being injured. She looks at me with relief and I kiss her like she wasn't just bleeding from the mouth less than 24 hours ago. _

_She's alive. I'm 50% there…_

"_I love you, Livvie. I'm here and Harper is too and I'm not going anywhere. My God, thank you!" I sob as I kiss her over and over, all over her face and body._

_As soon as I realize Harper's still sleeping, something happens. Machines start to beep and suddenly the room is filled with people. I'm ushered to the other side of the bed and the curtain near my beautiful babygirl's bed is closed. I can hear commands being barked and as I look into my Livvie's fearful eyes, the only one I understand is, "Crash Cart! Come on, Lets GO! Stay with me, Harper. Come on now! CODE BLUE!"_

_HPOV_

_I'm all alone. I can't feel my mom's arms around me anymore and it's growing darker and colder. I don't know what happened. A second ago I almost freaked out seeing myself holding a newborn baby. My mom was sniffling now she's gone. I don't want to die. I can hear people screaming and I hear my dad and mom crying as well. _

_How do I stop this? _

_I want to go home…._

_**AN: I KNOW….don't yell at me. I'm still trying to get my life back in order but this came to me as I lay in bed last night so I decided to share. **_

_**Before yall curse me out, they are all okay. If you look at the previous chapter, this is more of a flashback. **_

_**Any and all reviews welcome! **_

_**Thoughts?**_

_**My daughter starts 2**__**nd**__** grade tomorrow! **____** I'm still trying to wrap my head around this concept, but I hopefully will be able to update at least ONE more story today and I'm thinking…Brave? **___

_**Happy Reading! **_

_**XOXO**_


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